


Despair's Final Trial

by Zeus Bunny (DaughterOfMyth)



Category: Dangan Ronpa, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-10 18:58:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7000516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaughterOfMyth/pseuds/Zeus%20Bunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"They came prepared to face the horrors of the world, not for the world to face the horrors of the school."</p><p>Monokuma made it quite clear: there was no one waiting for Hope's Peak's 78th class to escape. There was no one trying to rescue them outside. However, when the survivors walked out those doors, they found the world had been trying to break in. Now, the students are witnesses in court, trying to explain and make sense of everything that happened. Will reliving the experiences drive them into further despair, or is this just what they need to close the books on the "High School Life of Mutual Killing" once and for all?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Merely a Formality

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will contain major spoilers for Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc for sure. It will probably also contain minor spoilers for Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, and possibly earlier Ace Attorney games. I don’t intend for this to have Super Dangan Ronpa spoilers, but I may update this warning if it is headed in that direction. The first chapter is an intro chapter, and will be shorter than the rest of the chapters.
> 
> This is my first fan-fiction, and one that I have wanted to write for a while, so we will see how it goes! Also, I hope this doesn't cause confusion, but I've been using the Dangan Ronpa characters' last names, but the Ace Attorney characters' first names. Sorry about that.

* * *

 

**Chapter 1: Merely a Formality**

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Granted, it was supposed to be much worse, but it wasn’t supposed to be like this. The remaining students of Hope’s Peak Academy’s 78th class made a choice to walk out that door, into the unknown, with the belief that the world was burning, their families were dead, and there was nothing left for them but Naegi’s “hope”. They came prepared to face the horrors of the world, not for the world to face the horrors of the school.

Monokuma had made it despairingly clear: There was no one waiting for them outside.

However, when they opened up those doors, there were two police cars, two swat vans, and an ambulance on standby. Help had been trying to get in ever since the broadcast of the school went up. While the students had given up hope of being assisted from the outside, while they were killing each other to save themselves, the police had been trying to save them. That thought alone made Kirigiri sick.

Maizono and Leon didn’t have to die. Chihiro didn’t have to die. No one had to die, but they did because the students were too impatient.

They waited, what, only two days before deciding to play Monokuma’s game? It was pathetic.

A voice shattered her thoughts. “Would you like some water, Fräulein? You are looking a bit pale,” the prosecutor asked. Kirigiri rubbed her temples, trying to soothe a headache that had been building over the last few hours.

“No, thank you,” Kirigiri responded.

The man sat down next to her. He didn’t look like a prosecutor with his popped collar and purple suit. He sat with his legs crossed and his one arm propped on the back of the bench. His blonde hair was tucked behind his ears and swept over one shoulder so his silver earrings were clearly visible. He looked like he should’ve been singing in bars, not prosecuting criminals.

“You do not need to worry about this trial. It is simply a formality,” Gavin explained, probably trying to ease Kirigiri’s tense expression. “We need to have official trials to put on record, but from what I’ve seen, your logic was spot on.”

Kirigiri was silent.

“All footage from the school was broadcast to the police station, except footage where the murders actually took place, and the class trials. We even got to see the investigations, so we shouldn’t have any trouble making this trial a speedy one…”

“I am not concerned about the trial,” Kirigiri responded. “I… I just don’t want to go over this again. This will be the third time.”

“The third time?”

“Once for the class trial, once to discover the ‘secret of the school’...”

Kirigiri almost choked on those last words. That was the one time when her deduction let her down. She let herself be fooled by photoshopped images and that… that video. That video was too ridiculous to be fake, or so she thought. Everyone in the world going mad... she should’ve known. She lead her classmates into believing something so clearly false. She should’ve known better… She should’ve…

“And once now,” Gavin said, finishing her sentence after a moment of silence. “I apologize for making you do this, but this is something that has to be done to put this case to rest.”

_The case was resting before you woke it up,_ Kirigiri thought, but did not say out loud.

“I know the defense attorney well. His name is Apollo Justice, and I believe Athena will be with him…”

“Who is being charged with the murder?”

“For this case, we came to the same conclusion you did: Leon Kuwata,” Gavin replied.

“So, you are saying that for other cases, you came to a different conclusion?”

“Well, possibly. There are a lot of cases to go over, so we split up the cases among available prosecutors. Simon Blackquill is taking Chihiro’s case. We are treating the double murder as two separate cases for now, but both of those will be handled by Franziska Von Karma. Sakura’s case will be handled by Prosecutor DeBeste, while Junko and Mukuro’s cases will be handled by Miles Edgeworth.”

“What about the defense attorney's?” Kirigiri asked.

“Well, Simon will be facing off against Raymond Shields. Franziska Von Karma pushed to get a rematch with Phoenix Wright so he will be defending for the double murder. That should be interesting. DeBeste will have to handle Marvin Grossberg, and Miles Edgeworth is going to face Athena Cykes for the case of Junko. Phoenix Wright requested to be put on the Mukuro case,” Gavin explained.

Kirigiri didn’t know who any of those people were, but she did understand one thing. “So, there are five different prosecutors and five different defense attorneys...” she pondered.

“In order to keep this separate and unbiased, yes,” Gavin responded. “We also will try and switch out witnesses, since you have already been through so much. If we need someone specific, we will call for them, but at this point, most of the trials are simply formalities.”

He said that a lot: simply a formality. Was he trying to console her, or trying to convince himself?

“Oh, I nearly forgot! As a bonus, they will be closing the Genocider Jill case. It seems Debeste is going to try his hand at defense work for that one, and the ‘rookie breaker’ Payne will face him,” Gavin shrugged. “Considering we have footage of her admitting to Togami that she is Genocider, it should be an interesting trial.”

Kirigiri couldn’t decide whether was relieved or upset that Genocider was going on trial. One on hand, she could be going to prison for a long time. On the other hand, they may get her the help she needs.

With those final thoughts, a man in a blue uniform approached them. “Sir, it is now time for the trial,” the man stated. Gavin nodded, and offered his hand to help Kirigiri up. She accepted out of politeness, and definitely not due to her shaking hands and lightheartedness.

“You are going to be fine, I promise,” Gavin stated. “If at any point you need a break, we can take one. As I said, this is only a formality.”

 

_"I don’t want to put her on the stand_

_If only there was another way..._

_At least Athena will be there with her Widget_

_Maybe she will have better luck than I"_

 

_"Get it together, Kirigiri, get it together._

_I’ve done this before. This should be no problem. No problem at all…_

_…_

_Damn it, I don’t want to do this again!"_


	2. My Logic Was Sound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial for Maizono commences and begins to try Kirigiri's patience. After fighting to be allowed on the stand, deja vu strikes as the defense suggests Naegi could be the killer. It is now up to Kirigiri to once again prove Naegi's innocence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are now past the intro chapter, and into the actual story! I spent a while editing it and trying to make it perfect, so we will see how it turns out!

* * *

  **Chapter Two: My Logic Was Sound**

“Is the prosecution ready?”

“Actung baby! The prosecution is ready to rock and roll,” Gavin responded, with complete confidence. He even stuck a pose so ridiculous, Kirigiri could only shake her head. His stance was always too casual and cocky, Kirigiri wondered why in the world he chose to be a prosecutor.

“Is the defense ready?” the judge asked.

“You got this!” the brightly colored woman next to the defense attorney shouted, jumping up in the air. She looked like someone transformed a canary into a person and gave it bright red hair that they never figured out how to put in a straight ponytail. Seriously, what was with the side ponytail? Also, that bright blue ball hanging around her neck kept making faces...

“Right, the defense is fine! We’re fine!” the man shouted back as if he were a cheerleader instead of a defense attorney. The new defense attorney looked a bit more professional than Gavin, but not much. He wore a bright red vest with red pants. Well, if the woman was a canary, this guy must’ve been a cardinal.

“Mr. Justice, please do control your ‘chords of steel’,” The judge stated.

“Right,” Mr. Justice responded, as he scratched his head and he cheeks pinked just slightly.

Great, they were both loud, and very active with their hands when they spoke. Kirigiri slouched back in her chair. Still, this man was toned down compared to Ishimaru…

Kirigiri felt an emptiness in her chest. _Ishimaru …_

“If we are all ready, shall we proceed?” the judge asked.

Gavin nodded. “Let us start with the facts on the case…”

Kirigiri stood up, ready to take the stand. Gavin put a hand on her shoulder. “Not quite yet, Fräulein. We are going to let the people at the police department who saw the investigation report on it.”

“Why? They weren’t present during the investigation. I was.”

“Yes, but you are the only person capable of testifying about the Class Trial, and if we didn’t let the detectives testify about something, they would feel left out,” Gavin teased with a smile. Kirigiri didn’t even flinch.

“You are afraid I will have a meltdown on the stand.”

“We don’t want to trouble you…”

“I am stuck here all day. You are already troubling me.”

Gavin was silent for a moment. “She makes a fair point,” the detective walking up to the stand responded with a chuckle. The broad-shouldered man looked worse for wear, and the gray coat of his looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or mended in years. Honestly, he looked more like a stereotypical homeless man than a detective.

“Gumshoe, if you try to weasel your way out of your job again, I will cut your pay!” an irritated voice from the gallery exclaimed.

“Yes, sorry Mr. Edgeworth, Sir.”

And that would be why he looked like a stereotypical homeless man.

“Sorry, pal, looks like I have to take this one,” Gumshoe replied to Kirigiri. She sat down without any complaints. She wasn’t about to get in the way of this man and money he clearly needs to live, especially not for something as stupid as pride. She wasn’t Togami after all…

“Alright, witness, what is your name and occupation?” Gavin asked.

“Detective Dick Gumshoe, Sir, homicide detective for the police department.”

Gavin nodded. “Now, before we get into the investigation, we should let the court know about the circumstances surrounding the murder. Specifically, this ‘High School Life of Mutual Killing’.”

 

TESTIMONY: RULES OF THE SCHOOL

  * So, sixteen students went into Hope’s Peak Academy, but only six came out
  * This was because of the ‘High School Life of Mutual Killing’, set up by Monokuma
  * The rules go as follows: all students were to stay in the school until they graduated.
  * Graduating was defined as killing another student, and not being found guilty during a class trial
  * Without graduating, all students would be trapped in the school



 

“That sounds horrible,” the judge responded, shaking his head. “Those poor students…”

 _He left out the part about those who convicted the wrong culprit get executed,_ Kirigiri noted. _Actually, he left out everything about the executions in general._

“May I cross-examine the witness?” Mr. Justice asked. “I just have a few more questions for him.”

“Yes, of course, go right ahead,” the judge responded.

“Detective, I would just like some clarification. You said that without graduating, all students would be trapped in the school. Are you saying each of the six survivors killed someone and was found innocent during a Class Trial?” Apollo asked with sweat forming on his brow.

“Goodness, no! If the culprit of a crime was found innocent during a class trial, the culprit went free, and the rest of the students would be executed.”

“Executed?!?!” Apollo and the Judge both exclaimed.

 _There it is_ , Kirigiri thought. She turned to Gavin. “Are they going to have to go through this for every trial, since they are switching prosecutors and attorneys?” she whispered

Gavin shrugged. “Yeah, they might have to since it is possible they could change judges for each trial. You know, you don’t have to be here right now if you don’t want to be. We can call you in when we need you.”

“No, I am staying,” Kirigiri said. She kept insisting she was fine. Now was the time to prove it.

Kirigiri turned back to the discussion between the attorney and the detective. “Please add that to your testimony,” the judge ordered. The detective nodded.

 

TESTIMONY: RULES OF THE SCHOOL

  * So, sixteen students went into Hope’s Peak Academy, but only six came out
  * This was because of the ‘High School Life of Mutual Killing’, set up by Monokuma
  * The rules go as follows: all students were to stay in the school until they graduated.
  * Graduating was defined as killing another student, and not being found guilty during a class trial
  * At the end of the class trial, if the wrong culprit was found guilty, only the culprit went free and everyone else was executed
  * If the class decided on the right culprit, the culprit was executed instead
  * Without someone graduating, all students would be trapped in the school



 

“So, Mr. Justice, do you have any problems with this testimony?” the judge asked.

“It still doesn’t answer the question of how the six remaining students survived,” Apollo responded, as he pressed his pointer finger into his forehead and wrinkled his brow. He was going to drill a hole into his brain if kept that up.

“That will be dealt with during the Mukuro and Junko cases, since it was during the class trial for Mukuro that the group escaped. It is best if we don’t get into that right now” Gavin responded.

“Alright then,” Apollo said, and began flipping through the court file to make sure there were no contradictions in Dickshoe’s testimony.

“Just for clarification, does that mean since the children are still alive, that they made the right decision in the class trial?” the judge asked.

Dickshoe scratched his head. “I guess so…”

“No, it doesn’t,” Gavin responded. “From that we have gathered via talking to the students, it seems that the mastermind who kidnapped them lied often. They even went so far as to try and execute a student for a crime they later proved he didn’t commit.”

“Really?!?” the judge exclaimed. Gavin looked at Kirigiri for a moment, unsure of whether to continue or not. _I should’ve made her stay in the waiting area. She shouldn’t have to hear this but..._ , he thought. _Well, she is going to figure it out sometime._

“In all actually, it is quite probable they were simply voting for who to execute. It doesn’t make their logic or investigations any less valid, but we shouldn’t take their survival after drawing their conclusions as evidence,” Gavin explained.

Kirigiri began to feel cold. He was right. Of course, he was right. Just because Monokuma had the videos of the murders, that doesn’t mean he played by his own rules. After all, during Mukuro’s trial, Naegi...

“Why would the mastermind do that?” Athena asked, basically shouting.

“Think about it, Athena. Killing the rest of the class and letting the culprit go free ends the game,” Apollo responded. “Then, in order to continue, they would have to kidnap entirely new students, which would be difficult with the police surrounding the building. It was too risky, and unnecessary since the students wouldn’t know the difference.”

 _Steady voice. Steady breathing. Steady hands_ , Kirigiri thought. _My logic was sound. We didn’t execute anyone innocent. My logic was sound… it had to be sound…_

“Would you like to call up your first witness?” the judge asked.

Gavin looked and Kirigiri, and she forced her face into an expression of cold indifference. She wasn’t going to give anyone reason to worry about her. No one in the court was going to believe she was anything but perfectly calm. She was calm and prepared, not nervous in the slightest.

“Are you prepared, Fräulein?” Gavin asked.

“I was prepared a half an hour ago when you sent the detective in my stead,” Kirigiri responded, with a well-practiced smirk.

“Alright then!” Gavin said with a smile. She walked with confidence to the witness stand, knowing she completely fooled him. “Witness, name and occupation?”

“Kyoko Kirigiri, previously a detective,” Kirigiri responded.

Kirigiri noticed the canary woman and the attorney muttering to each other immediately after she spoke, but Gavin continued. “Alright, why don’t we begin with the state of the body…”

“Hold it!” Athena shouted.

“Yes, what is it, Miss Cykes?” the judge asked.

“I would like to hold a therapy session for the witness. Clearly, with everything she has seen…”

“I am fine,” Kirigiri assured her. “Can we just move on with the case?”

The woman looked to Mr. Justice, who was clutching the bracelet on his wrist. They kept bantering back and forth, but Kirigiri could make out a few phrases.

“she’s lying, but should we really push her?”

“she needs help, Apollo”.

Athena turned to the judge. “I insist that the witness has experienced too much trauma to recall the events correctly. She is clearly distressed!’

The courtroom was silent for several moments.

“Alright, not clearly, but I can assure you that…”

“How about I assure you that I am perfectly fine and capable of testifying?” Kirigiri responded. She turned to the judge. “I have testified on this matter before. It is no problem.”

“I have to agree with the witness. She doesn’t seem distressed at all,” the judge responded.

Athena was getting visibly angry at this point. She scowled at the judge, slammed her hands down with a _thud_ ,  and yelled: “Widget is a scientific tool which doesn’t lie, and Widget is staying this girl is extremely traumatized!”

“Well, maybe you Widget needs an upgrade because I am perfectly fine,” Kirigiri responded, calmly.  “Now, you wanted to hear about the state of the body?” she asked Gavin. Without waiting for a response, she continued with her testimony.

 

TESTIMONY: MAIZONO’S BODY

  * Her body was discovered in Naegi’s shower, stabbed through with a knife.
  * Her right wrist was broken and had traces of gold paint on her wrist.
  * She had what appeared to be 11037 written behind her, but upon further inspection,  it was the word LEON inverted and upside down. It was written like this due to her writing it behind her back.
  * Also: the doorknob to the shower was broken, and there was no hair in the room at all.



 

“Alright, Mr. Justice, you may now commence your cross-examination,” the judge stated.

“Not until you allow me to…” Athena started to break in, but Apollo grabbed her arm.

“She is giving perfectly coherent testimonies, which means we don’t need to stop the trial for this,” Apollo responded. He turned to Kirigiri. “How did the body get into Naegi’s shower? Was it moved?”

“No, there was no signs of the body being moved, so she was likely killed in the shower. However, the bedroom walls were cut up and there were clear signs of a struggle there, which means she and her assailant fought out there before she fled into the shower.”

“Then the assailant removed the doorknob to get into the shower,” Apollo responded. “So, at the moment, there seems to be equal evidence to point to Naegi as Leon.”

Didn’t he have all the evidence Kirigiri and Naegi gathered in the court record of his? Wasn’t he _just_ looking at it? It was just like the class trial. These people were too thick to actually think through the evidence and figure out it wasn’t Naegi. They were just like all the other students. The only difference is that this time they were picking on Naegi without him being there to defend himself. T _hat is fine, I will defend him_ , Kirigiri thought.

“Except, Naegi knew the shower didn’t lock. It was simply misaligned, and thus there was a trick to opening it. He knew how the open the door, thus wouldn’t have taken off the handle,” Kirigiri said. “Actually, showers in the boys’ rooms don’t lock, only those in the girls’ rooms do. So whoever was in the room, didn’t know it wasn’t Maizono’s room.”

Apollo began sweating. It wasn’t fair. For most of these trials, the defense attorneys were defending someone who was already dead, and who had already been found guilty. Not only that, after seeing this girl’s skill, Apollo had come to the conclusion that they likely _were_ guilty.

“Also, the doorknob could’ve only been taken off by a toolkit. Monokuma gave all the male students a toolkit, while giving the female ones a sewing kit. The only person who broke the plastic wrapping around the toolkit was Leon.”

“Maybe someone stole his tool kit,” Apollo suggested. “Or maybe the culprit found other tools in the school and it is just a coincidence?”

“At the time, we were restricted to only the first floor of the dorms and the school. The only rooms on the first floor were food storage, cafeteria, kitchen, trash room, laundry, classrooms, and the gym. The only tools were those that were given to us, along with instructions on how to kill someone with them.”

“Wait, you were given instructions… on how to kill someone with a sewing kit?”

“Maybe his toolkit was stolen, but there is more evidence against him,” Kirigiri continued, completely ignoring the attorney’s question. “I did a graphite rubbing on the notepad in Makoto’s room and found traces of a letter she sent to Leon, summoning him to her room. She specifically said to look at the nameplates because she switched them…”

“Wait, she switched nameplates?”

“She switched the plates in hopes of framing Naegi for the murder of Leon…”

“But Leon was the one murdered!”

“Originally, Maizono wanted to kill Leon, but then Leon killed her. We can tell because all the hair was missing from the room as if it had been cleaned. That only make sense if there was someone who wasn’t supposed to be in the room that was there. Since Naegi was the room's owner, it makes no sense for him to remove his own hair. The suspect that makes the most sense is Leon, since he was summoned to the room in secret.”

“If Leon wasn’t expecting to kill Maizono, he wouldn’t have had the knife!”

“Maizono invited Leon to her room, and then came at him with the knife, and he retaliated with the gold practice sword…

“Wait, a gold practice sword?”

“...which is why she had a broken wrist with gold paint on it. He then used her own weapon against her.”

“Alright, why don’t we add all that to…” Apollo began to say, but Kirigiri wasn’t about to stop there, and that was when Apollo realized that she hadn’t been answering his questions. She wasn’t listening to them anymore. She was just reciting what happened, like a monologue from a play.

“There is more evidence against Leon that he tried to destroy via the incinerator, which Yamada was in charge of…”

“Witness, the defense wanted to add that to your testimony,” the judge said. Kirigiri didn’t even flinch.

“Who is Yamada?” Athena asked more to the room than to Kirigiri.

“Yamada was tasked by Monokuma to be the janitor and he was the only person who held the key to the trash room, but having the key wasn’t necessary to use it. We found glass shards near the incinerator button, and Hagakure’s crystal ball went missing before the murder and…”

“Fräulein, please slow down, We should be adding some of this to the record,” Gavin tried to interrupt.

“Leon threw the shirt with the blood stains…”

“Shirt with bloodstains?” Apollo asked. He looked toward Gavin with a P _lease help me, I don’t understand_ look.

“Fräulein, we should probably take a break...” Gavin asked, but Kirigiri just kept going.

“... and then he threw Hagakure’s crystal ball through the shutters to turn on the incinerator, thus destroying the bloodstain shirt, but one of the sleeves didn’t burn up. It was a type of shirt only Leon wears. The only person who could throw like that would have to be the Super High School Level Baseball Star…”

Apollo turned to Athena. “You might’ve had a point before. What is Widget saying about her right now?”

Athena pulled up a holographic screen and stared at it for a moment. “She is everywhere… anger, pain, fear, all of it,” Athena breathed. “The poor girl is scared and hurting…”

“It could’ve only been Leon. There was no other option. We all agreed, it had to be him. My logic was sound. We didn’t execute anyone innocent. My logic was sound,” Kirigiri said, her face still stoic and unchanging. She looked Apollo dead in the eye, daring him to object. Apollo swallowed hard. “Any objections, attorney?” she asked, staring him down.

The courtroom was silent for several minutes. No one dared to breathe.

The judge turned to the court stenographer. “Did we get all that on record?” he asked. The court stenographer nodded. “Alright, then we are going to have a recess for a few minutes. When we come back, we will go over the transcripts. Meanwhile, Athena… you have permission to go ahead with your therapy.”

Kirigiri and Athena made eye contact, Kirigiri’s determined eyes burning into Athena. Athena glared back. She wasn’t going to back down. One truth was made clear to both of them; This wasn’t going to be a fun nor easy process.

 

_“I don’t know what they were thinking anyway._

_It is much too soon for this trial to take place._

_Well, I can hear the discord in her heart,_

_and I am going to help her whether she wants it or not”_

 

_“I am not used to doing trials without Naegi._

_Normally, he would make deductions,_

_And I would only step in if he and the rest of the class were stuck._

_I am failing horribly at leading all by myself…”_


	3. What If They Were Innocent?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Athena and Kirigiri talk about trauma. Or, more correctly, Kirigiri attempts to avoid talking about her emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so I hope this ends up okay. Writing this was more difficult than I anticipated, especially when Kirigiri starts coming up with theories. I edited and revised this a lot (possibly too much), so I hope it makes sense. Also, I hope it doesn't break people too much...

* * *

 

**Chapter 3: What If They Were Innocent?**

 

Athena made her way to the couch in Defendant Lobby No. 2, while Kirigiri slowly trailed behind. The detective had her arms crossed, and avoided looking at the attorney. Athena couldn’t tell if this was because Kirigiri was lost in thought, or mad at Athena for taking her out of the courtroom. This girl was ridiculously difficult to read, and if she wasn’t speaking, Athena couldn’t hear the discord in her heart. Athena quickly sat down and pulled up the Mood Matrix and prepared for therapy.

“So, uh, would you like to sit down?” Athena asked after Kirigiri stood looking at a painting for several moments.

Kirigiri politely pulled up one of the folding chairs from a table and placed it under the painting and to the side of the couch. It was in perfect position for the witness to avoid eye contact and simply stare at the door, waiting for Prosecutor Gavin to come back to retrieve her.  
“So, uh, I am Athena Cykes!” Athena said, holding out her hand.

Kirigiri kept her arms crossed. “I already introduced myself,” she reminded her.

“Right, yes, you are Kyoko Kirigiri,” Athena responded, pulling her hand back. “So... Want to talk about what happened at the school?”

“Already did.”

“...Want to talk about what happened in court?”

“No.”

“Well… I would like to talk about what happened,” Athena responded with a smile. “So, would you mind listening?”

“You are going to talk? Considering your performance in the courtroom, I think you should have lost the right to speak,” Kirigiri asked.

“Excuse me?!?” Athena exclaimed.

Kirigiri looked at her dead in the eye. “Did you even look at the court record before you went in there? A child could see that Naegi is innocent.”

“If we had time to watch the hours and hours of footage handed over by the police department, maybe we would’ve had the information we needed to make a solid conclusion!” Athena retorted. “As it was, we were given the footage yesterday, and there was a total of three days worth of footage _for this case alone_ , and that is not including the explanation of the High School Life of Mutual Killing since the police hadn’t started recording the broadcast at that point.”

Kirigiri was silent, refusing to acknowledge that the defense attorney had made a solid argument. Due to the three-day trial rule, and the mass amount of data surrounding this case, no one was really prepared for the trial today except a select few. Emma Skye, Dick Gumshoe, and Tyrell Badd had taken turns watching the footage of the school when it was broadcasted to the police station, so they were well versed in the happenings of Hope’s Peak Academy. Miles Edgeworth and Franziska Von Karma were both called in to help try and solve the mystery of who was behind Monokuma, and thus had been constantly getting updates from the detectives, and had been delving into the students’ personal histories.

Then there was Gavin, who had strong connections to the school. Apparently, long ago he was offered to attend the school under the title “Super High School Level Rockstar”, but he declined to attend Themis Legal Academy. During the whole “Mutual Killing” situation, all he could think was _if I had been a few years younger, and made a different choice, it could’ve easily been me in there_. He asked for constant updates and was the first to volunteer to take one of the cases. These students needed justice.

“However, you are not angry that we were unprepared. Well, you are, but I believe you are more angry because we accused Naegi,” Athena asked.

“I am not angry,” Kirigiri stated through gritted teeth.

“You are right, you are not angry. You are downright pissed off,” Athena responded. “I can hear it in your voice: you are scared, sad, and angry all at the same time and I want to know why.”

“Have you considered it might be because I was held against my will in a school where we were manipulated into murdering one another?” Kirigiri responded.

“Well, yes,” Athena responded. “But I am here to help you, which means I need to know details.”

Kirigiri looked at her in the eyes for the first time, with a completely deadpan expression. “Mukuro was impaled to death with spears in front of us. Maizono was stabbed in the shower. Then, Leon was beaten to death with baseballs, just for the irony. Chihiro was bashed over the head and then hung up like a display, and Oowada was electrocuted. Ishimaru and Yamada had their heads bashed in with a hammer, and then Celestia was burned alive. Sakura killed herself, and Asahina tried to get everyone executed for it.  Junko committed suicide after convincing us to give up all hope. Also, we were trapped with three psychopaths: a soldier, a woman who gets off on despair, and a serial killer. There, you now have details.”

Athena wasn't prepared for that. She wasn't prepared for the girl to recite her classmates' deaths like ingredients to a recipe. It was a little unnerving, to say the least, but it had paved the way for Athena to get inside this girl's head a bit. “Asahina tried to get everyone executed for it…” Athena repeated. “You were very scared when you said that…”

“Really? I can’t imagine why the thought of my own execution would do anything but make me feel secure,” Kirigiri responded, looking back at the wall.

“Yet, you didn’t feel the least bit angry at Asahina.”

“She had every right to be angry. She thought we pushed Sakura to suicide.”

“Yet you felt very angry at the thought of everyone being executed. Why?”

“Your questions make no sense. Why wouldn’t I be angry at the thought of everyone being executed?” Kirigiri asked calmly. This girl set Athena on edge. While Athena could hear the nuances in Kirigiri’s voice that screamed “anger”, her face didn’t change. It was as if her entire face were a plastic mask, made specifically to keep the trauma inside. She must’ve practiced that mask for a long time.

Athena thought for a moment. Athena had noted that Gavin glanced at this girl in court when he brought up a specific point. It was only a hunch, but it was all Athena had to go on. “I think you are angry because you firmly believed that everyone would die. You didn’t second guess Monokuma.”

“What I believed then is irrelevant. What matters is that he didn’t kill everyone and that there are survivors now,” Kirigiri responded.

 _Jackpot_ , Athena thought. _Her fear spiked when she said “what I believed then”_. Athena paused, having finally put all the pieces together. “It isn’t irrelevant. Whenever someone says it is, you become very upset and scared…”

“I don’t know how you are coming to these conclusions, but your logic is faulty.”

“... I believe that you took comfort in knowing that all the people executed were guilty.”

“They _were_ guilty,” she responded, and for the first time, Athena saw a hint of emotion from her physically. Her hands formed fist and her brow lowered just slightly. Her lips pressed together slightly harder, and Athena knew she was getting somewhere. “All of them confessed at the end of their school trials: Leon, Oowada, Celestia, and even Junko. Everyone confessed,” Kirigiri stated with her eyes fixed on the door. _Damn it, Gavin is taking forever,_ she thought.

Athena smiled. She finally figured it out. “That is what has been bothering you. You fear what Prosecutor Gavin pointed out might be true: you were voting for an execution, and the rules were irrelevant.”

“Even if they were, they all confessed…”

Athena watched Kirigiri closely, watching the mask break little bit by little bit.  One eye was closed more than the other as she stared down the door with girtted teeth and unmatched fury. She had pulled up one fist to her chest and she was holding her elbow with her other hand. Athena remembered from her “Psychology and Body Language” class that pulling her arms in meant she was trying to close the world out. This would be the time Athena broke in.

“According to Monokuma, his goal was to breed despair, and he was very good at it. You are afraid that he manipulated people into confessing out of pure despair,” Athena noted. Kirigiri did not respond. _Alright, time to try a different tactic_ , Athena thought. “You mention that Asahina tried to get everyone executed. I assume she tried to point you all towards the wrong culprit? Why don’t you tell me about that.”

Athena waited for a response, but Kirigiri didn’t give one. _Please come soon, Gavin. I don’t want to talk about this anymore,_ Kirigiri thought.

“Kirigiri, you need to talk to me. How did Asahina try to get everyone executed?” Athena asked.

Kirigiri stood up. “I don’t need to talk to anyone,” Kirigiri responded, and walked to the door.

“Where are you going?” Athena asked. There was no hint of anger in her voice. Maybe desperation, but no anger. She was coming to grasp what was going on in this girl’s head, and it was hard for the attorney to be angry now.

Kirigiri stopped, hand placed firmly on the handle to the door. She could attempt to prove she was fine by going back into the courtroom, but the very thought of that made her stomach want to give way. She could head home, but then if they needed her later then Gavin would have to come find her. Then he would have a bunch of questions about why she left, and he would make a big deal about her not being alright. She could hide in the bathroom. Actually, no, that would only go to prove that she was indeed in need of this girl’s crackpot therapy. _Come on Kirigiri, where are you going?_ She asked herself.

Athena waited a while before breaking in. “Just talk to me until Prosecutor Gavin comes back. If nothing else, it will make him and I feel better about letting you go wherever it is you want to go.”

 _And where is that, I wonder?_ Kirigiri thought. _My grandfather doesn’t look at me the same anymore. He only looks at me with a mix of pity for my situation, guilt that he let me go to that school, and disappointment that I made the choice to go to Hope’s Peak to begin with. Whenever I go to speak with him, he shys away either because he is afraid I blame him for letting me go, or because he is unsure of how to deal with me now._

_Naegi is with his family now, recovering. My presence there would only remind him of everything we went through, especially if he figures out that I am not confident that we only executed guilty people. He helped me make those decisions. I shouldn’t have him question them. Asahina offered to have me stay with her and her family, but she lives so far away that I wouldn’t be able to see my grandfather often. Fukawa is in a holding cell awaiting trial. With the school no longer there to protect him (the school protecting him, that is an interesting thought), Hagakure returned to hiding from the Mafia… where is there left for me to go?_

She didn’t even consider Togami at all. There was no need to. He wouldn’t have anything to do with the rest of them if they were the last people on earth.

“Kirigiri, are you alright?” Athena asked. The detective girl had been staring at the door handle for a long time. With that, Kirigiri was pulled back to reality.

“I am fine,” Kirigiri responded, and returned to her seat. She cleared her throat. “To answer your question: Sakura left a suicide note for Asahina, which Monokuma switched out for a more ‘despair-filled’ one. This lead to Asahina doing everything in her power to throw off the investigation, even down to confessing to killing Sakura herself. In that ways, she tried and get the rest of the student’s killed.”

Athena nodded. “What do you suppose would’ve happened if you have believed her?” she asked.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter because that is what is worrying you right now,” Athena said. Kirigiri was silent. “So, what do you believe would’ve happened?”

“Whatever Monokuma decided to do. I am not in charge of his actions,” Kirigiri responded.

 _You are not in charge of his actions, but I know you don’t believe that for a second,_ Athena thought. “I know you aren’t, and no one blames you for what happened… except for you. You did the best you could. You know that, don’t you?”

Kirigiri paused. “I know I made decisions based on the facts that I had and my interpretation of them, and I know that those decisions can’t be undone.”

“You did the best you could,” Athena emphasized.

“My best directly resulted in the death of Leon, Oowada, Celestia, and even Junko,” Kirigiri responded. “I voted for their executions. I chose to have them killed. Who knows, maybe my decision to break the rules and get into forbidden areas is what got my father killed. Maybe he was killed as punishment for what I did.”

Athena looked at the Mood Matrix. This wasn’t going well. She was getting more erratic, but Athena needed to push further. “I… I wasn’t informed about anything involving your father.”

“He was the headmaster,” Kirigiri responded.

“How did he die?” Athena asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. Her calm facial expression didn’t change as she said the words, but the mood matrix was going crazy. “I found a box containing human bones, and Monokuma claimed they were his. My father hasn’t been found, so it is likely Monokuma was telling the truth.”

 _We should have those bones DNA tested,_ Athena thought. _Although, if they do end up belonging to the headmaster, it means we will have yet another trial to go through, and it will only pile on this girl’s guilt._

“Monokuma made a point of making sure I found the bones specifically after I interfered with what would’ve been Naegi’s execution for a crime he didn’t commit. It was punishment for what I did. I broke the rules, and I’m probably the reason my father is dead.”

“You believed you were saving your fellow classmates.”

“Sure, and then I voted for their executions.”

Athena smiled. “Again, you believed you were saving your innocent classmates.”

“But why? Monokuma had given us no reason to trust him, and… I trusted him so much. Yet, if you throw out the rules and look at the situation that way, a lot of things begin to make more sense. I was just too blind to realize it,” Kirigiri responded, looking down at the ground with a curled finger resting on her chin.

“Like what?” Athena asked.

“Togami suddenly decided to help fight Monokuma after antagonizing us for the first several cases. Precisely, he joined us after Sakura’s death. What if… what if he did kill Chihiro? I mean, he tried to frame Fukawa, so he was already a suspect... Togami could’ve pretended not to know Chihiro’s biological sex; It wouldn’t be that hard… Especially if he was simply recreating the shock he felt when he found Chihiro working out in the boy’s locker room that night... “ The girl mused. “Then, when we weren’t executed after the trial… after he didn’t get to go free, he would have been confused. I imagine he would’ve been angry at Monokuma for lying, decided to face him, and would have realized that if he told us anything he would be executed all the same…”

“Why would Togami wait until after Sakura’s death to help?” Athena asked.

“If there is anything I have learned from this experience, it is how easily emotion can get in the way of rational decisions,” Kirigiri asked. “He would have been angry and probably traumatized from killing Chihiro and watching Oowada be executed for his own crimes. He wouldn’t find the strength nor the will to join us until after Asahina was moved to make a stand with Naegi and I,” Kirigiri responded. “It also makes sense why he kept making comments about it being ‘a game’ and trying to make us fear and hate him up until that point. He wanted to be executed. He knew guilt was irrelevant, so… and he couldn’t stand what he had done...”

“So… do you believe Togami killed Chihiro?” Athena asked. Athena didn’t know enough about this case to make a judgment herself, but if Athena had to guess, her opinion would've only made things worse anyway. When you are doubting your abilities, even the wildest speculations can seem like logical possibilities.

“We never voted until someone confessed. Someone always confessed to the crimes, and that is why we were so sure that they were the true culprits,” Kirigiri said, her hands and voice now shaking. “But what if what you said was true? Monokuma is a master of despair and the confessions might have been an attempt at ending the Mutual Killing. If Oowada tried the same thing as Asahina and succeeded… Oowada and Chihiro were close, so it didn’t make sense to begin with…“ she paused for a moment, a tear forming in the corner of her eye. “I am not sure anymore. What if Oowada was innocent? W-what if they were all innocent?”

Athena put a hand on Kirigiri’s shoulder as the girl began crying. It wasn’t a loud, heavy breathing crying. There were just a few silent tears running down her cheeks.

“If I caused even a single innocent person to die, I am not sure how I can live with that,” Kirigiri said, staring with wide eyes at the ground.

Athena pulled Kirigiri into an embrace. “You did not cause it. You didn’t do anything but try your hardest to save everyone. It was whoever was controlling Monokuma. They are to blame. It is not your fault,” Athena repeated over and over again. Kirigiri didn’t sob. She didn’t grab Athena and cry into her shoulder. She simply stared at the wall, tears slowly streaming down her face.

Athena sat there holding Kirigiri for several minutes. Most of the things Kirigiri tried to say were too soft and too jumbled for Athena to understand, except one phrase. “I could’ve saved them.”

“Honey, no one could’ve saved them,” Athena said and repeated as many times as necessary.

Soon after, the door swung open with a long, drawn-out squeak. Kirigiri watched cardinal boy peer in, and she quickly avoided eye contact. She squeezed her arms out from Athena’s embrace, and wiped the tears from her eyes, before she glanced back and Apollo. Kirigiri cleared her throat. “Please get your friend off of me,” Kirigiri asked, her voice calm but slightly hoarse from the amount of explaining she did that day.

Apollo smiled. _Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything_ , Apollo thought. “Athena, why don’t you let the poor girl go?”

Athena released Kirigiri. “Feel better?”

“I told you before: I was already fine,” Kirigiri responded.

“She sounds just like you while you are getting pumped for a trial, Apollo!’ Athena responded. She then proceeded to shout: “I AM ATHENA CYKES AND I AM FINE!”

Kirigiri cringed. The canary was back to being her loud, chirpy self, and it looked like the cardinal was about to join in.

Apollo chuckled. “I AM APOLLO JUSTICE AND THE TRIAL WENT FINE!” she shouted.

Kirigiri’s eyes darted up. “What happened in the trial?”

Athena looked at Apollo, shaking her head and waving her hand across her throat, but Apollo continued anyway. This girl was smart, and the current news would put her more at ease. “We are going to have a second day to the trial. The prosecution is going to search the surveillance tapes for the video of the room swap, and they will bring that tomorrow. We don’t have the video of Maizono taking the knife since that was edited out by Monokuma and not broadcasted to the police, but the prosecution is going to get a written testimony from Asahina about the knife. With that, we don’t believe we will have to call Asahina into court herself.”

“What about the defense?” Kirigiri asked. “What are they going to do?”

“I… well, I guess I am going to go over as much of the tapes as I can, and try to come up with an argument for Leon’s innocence since that is my job but… I am going to be honest, Athena. The likeliness of us losing this one is pretty high,” Apollo responded.

Athena turned to Kirigiri. “It is only to be expected. Normally, we are confident our clients are innocent before we try to defend them.”

“However, after the brutal fight Gavin put up after you left, I am almost certain that Leon is guilty,” Apollo responded. Kirigiri relaxed, but only slightly. “Gavin will be coming to pick you up and take you home in a moment, Ms. Kirigiri. Edgeworth and Gumshoe both asked him to sit down after the trial. He got really worked up.”

“Worked up? Gavin?” Athena asked, clearly shocked.

Apollo shrugged. “Yeah, if I had to guess, I would say he wanted to end the trial quickly.”

 _He was probably worried about his witness,_ Apollo wondered. _To be honest, I think everyone was. Even the Boss asked if I wanted him to come in and check on these two partway through. However,_ he thought, looking at Kirigiri’s tired yet stoic expression, _maybe it would be best not to tell her that._

“The trial ended with me losing for the first time.

However, I am alright with that.

I worry about the next trial, though.

For that one, even the police and prosecution don’t agree on who the culprit is”

 

“Well, the chances of me coming back for the next few trials is not likely

However, the judge ordered that I meet with Athena regularly

She said we could just go out for coffee and chat twice a week

I prefer tea, but I don’t know how to tell her that...”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next on Trauma with the 78th Class: The Trial for Chihiro.  
> \- Prosecutor: Simon Blackquill  
> \- Witness: Byakuya Togami  
> \- Detective: Ema Skye  
> \- Defense Attorney: Raymond Shields  
> \- Defendant: Toko Fukawa / Genocider Jill


	4. Have Faith in a Serial Killer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raymond Shields goes to the Detention Center with Kay Faraday in order to meet his new client: Toko Fukawa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I am back! So, this was an interesting chapter to write, mostly because Fukawa's personality is completely opposite of my own. I did my best to make it sound like her (even incorporating a few of her own quotes), so I hope I did well! Also, I'm just about 3/4 of the way done with Ace Attorney Investigations 2, and I was informed that Ema appears in the last case. I don't know if Ray and Ema meet, but if they do and their interactions aren't accurate, I apologize. I will revise this chapter after I finish that game, but I wanted to get this out there before I forgot all my ideas for it.

* * *

 

**Chapter 4: Have Faith In A Serial Killer**

 

Raymond Shields walked into the detention center visitor’s area, Kay Faraday hanging at his side. She didn’t seem very confident about being there, however, she was never going to admit it. Raymond didn’t blame her. They were there to visit a woman who admitted to being a serial killer. Specifically, she was a serial killer of men. That was the reason Kay insisted on joining Mr. Shields during this case. She wanted to make sure that nothing happened to him.

“There will be thick glass between us; There is no way for her to harm me,” Raymond had told her on their drive there.

“Right now,yes.  But what about in the defendant’s lobby?” Kay responded. “This isn’t some chick who murdered someone she had a personal grudge against. She killed for the sake of killing, and her only requirement is that the victim is male. Newsflash! You are male, Mr. Shields!”

“I appreciate your concern, but many of my clients have been found guilty of murder before, and none of them have attempted to murder me. Even if they are guilty, I am on their side. My job is to make sure that the sentence is fair, and so killing me is counterproductive” Raymond replied with a smirk.

“Were any of your previous clients criminally insane?” Kay asked.

Raymond was silent for a moment. “I guess that depends on how you define insane,” Ray responded. He glanced over at the girl in the passenger seat. “It was never something a good hug couldn’t fix.”

“Please, don’t hug the serial killer,” Kay begged. Raymond began laughing. “You are not taking this seriously! She confessed to murdering a lot of people, exactly 27 people to be exact! Do you _want_ to be number 28?”

“So, Kay, care to tell Uncle Ray how you knew the exact number?” Raymond asked. Kay quickly became quiet. “Ah, the Great Thief Yatagarasu strikes again.”

At that point, Kay pulled out the large file out of her bag. “Seriously, before you meet her, you need to read this file, although I don’t suggest eating anything beforehand. Those photos were graphic!”

“Well, they are photos of crime scenes. You would expect them to be graphic. As for reading the file, you have that backward. I should meet her and draw my own conclusions about her before I read what she may or may not have done. That is the way of an attorney,” Raymond responded, pulling into the parking lot of the detention center.

Now, they sat before the clear glass window that normally separated the defendants from the attorneys. They had been sitting there for several minutes. The guard went to fetch Miss Fukawa when they first arrived ten minutes ago, and he still hadn’t returned.

“I wonder if they are still questioning her,” Ray pondered.

“I wonder if she killed the guard,” Kay muttered.

Ray sighed. “You have spent too much time with Miles doing prosecutorial work. You no longer have faith in people.”

“I have faith in people. I just don’t have faith in a serial killer I’ve never met before,” Kay responded. “Seriously, she kills men, the guard was a guy…”

“He _is_ a guy,” Ray corrected.

“And now he is suddenly missing. It isn’t too hard to see that…”

Kay was cut off by the sound of the door opening on the other side of the glass. In walked a guard, leading a girl with long brown braids by the arm. She kept squirming and squealing, clearly uncomfortable and wanting to return to the detention cell.

“You have been provided an attorney, and you have twenty minutes to meet with him before you return to questioning. Legally, we must allow you to meet with him,” the guard said.

“I d-don’t need t-to meet him!” the girl exclaimed. “I d-didn’t ask f-for a lawyer!”

Kay’s expression turned to shock. “Wait! _That_ is the serial killer?” Kay asked. “She is almost my age and no bigger than myself too!”

Ray shrugged. “You shouldn't be surprised. I told you that she is being tried for a crime at Hope’s Peak Academy, which means she would be a high schooler just like you. Also, didn’t you have the case file?”

“I have older case file from before they had a suspect for Genocide Jill. In fact, mine still calls her Genocide Jack because they didn't know he was a she. Getting the current one would’ve been much more difficult. I need to practice my thieving more before I try something like that. Also, she didn’t have to be a student at Hope’s Peak! She could’ve been one of the staff members! There were staff members there, right?” Kay asked. Ray shook his head.

“The detectives are looking into what happened to the staff, but as of right now, there aren’t many leads. According to the press, none of the staff came into work the day the school got taken over, except the headmaster. What is weirder yet is that when the detectives came to their homes, not only were they not there, neither were their belongings. It was as if they vanished overnight…”

“Seriously?”

“Well, that is just hearsay at the moment. Anyway, what exactly were you expecting Miss Fukawa to look like?”

“I don’t know, maybe someone big and buff with a lot of scars and long unkempt hair,” Kay pondered, “Maybe she would have a giant scar on her face from some battle long ago! Oh! Actually, she would have scars everywhere, because she’s a warrior! And she would have ripped shirt sleeves, an angry expression…”

“You have quite the imagination,” Ray laughed. “It sounds like you are describing an ogre rather than a high school girl.”

The yelling of Fukawa broke through their conversation. “I am not g-going to c-c-court!” she screamed. The guard was calmly standing in front of the door while she uselessly pounded on his chest.

Ray stood up, pulled his hat off his head and to his chest, and bow politely. “Miss Fukawa, I presume? I am Raymond Shields. I will be your defense attorney.”

Fukawa simply kept trying her best to beat up the guard.

“What does she mean, she isn’t going to court?” Kay asked Ray.

“I don’t know, but Uncle Ray is about to find out,” he responded. He tapped on the glass. “Miss Fukawa, I need to speak with you…”

“Let me go back! Let me go back!” Fukawa screamed. “I c-can’t go out… I won’t go b-back to c-c-court!”

“You have twenty minutes to talk to this attorney before they return you to questioning. If you wish to stay silent, you may, but I suggest you use this time wisely,” the guard responded.

She then crumpled on the floor in the corner of the room, staring angrily at the ground and biting her thumbnail like an angry toddler. She kept muttering quiet curses into the ground, and Kay felt her faith in this client fall even further. This shut-in was insane.

The guard turned to the attorney. “There isn’t really a point you being here.”

“We are her defense team! We have every right to be here!’ Kay exclaimed.

“I am just saying that since she already confessed...” the guard responded.

“She confessed to being Genocide Jill. We aren’t entirely sure that this case was a Genocide Jill case,” Ray responded. “In fact, according to Makoto Naegi, who asked me to defend her, all the students agreed that the culprit for this case was Mondo Oowada. Granted, that conclusion is based on his confession, which we don’t have the footage for, but there are multiple witnesses that I believe will testify to it in court.”

“I am sorry; I wasn’t clear. She specifically confessed to killing Chihiro Fujisaki,” the guard responded.

Kay gasped, and even Ray’s eyes got wide. “She did what now?” he asked.

“She was only in questioning for ten minutes, and at that point she wasn’t even the biggest suspect. Blackquill started asking her questions, and she answered fairly clearly, and then he brought up the possibility of testifying in court. Then she confessed to everything.”

“Getting out of that one will be tough,” Ray responded.

“I told you,” Kay said.

“I still believe she is innocent,” Ray declared with a shrug.

“What? How could you possibly still believe that?” Kay asked.

Ray looked over at the heap of girl what the huddled in the corner. She was shaking, crying, and cursing through gritting her teeth. “That isn’t what a killer does,” Ray responded. “That is what a girl who is hiding her fear with anger does. I don’t know who or what she is scared of, but if I had to guess, she is confessing to a murder she didn’t commit in order to get away from facing her fears.”

“You are not alone in questioning the Fukawa girl’s guilt,” a female voice said behind them. The two turned around to see a woman with pink goggles on her head, a white lab coat, and snackoos in her hands. She popped a few of the snacks in her mouth as she walked up to the glass and peered in a Fukawa. “No one is in agreement about who actually committed this murder. Monokuma blacked out the footage for that entire night, so while the student’s claim Celestia ran into Fujisaki during the night, we have no proof of that and we don’t have Celestia to testify. We also don’t have proof of Oowada’s verbal slip up or Byakuya’s reaction to Fujisaki being male. We really don’t have a lot to go on other than word-of-mouth.”

“Ah, and who might this pretty miss be?” Raymond asked.

The woman popped a few more Snackoos into her mouth, munched on them for a moment, swallowed, and spoke. “I am Detective Skye, the detective in charge of this case. You must be Mr. Shields. Mr. Edgeworth told me about you, and about how you worked with his father back in the day.”

Ray once again put his hat to his chest and bowed politely. “It is a pleasure to meet a lady as pretty as yourself, Skye-pie,” he said with a smile. “How about a hug?”

“Uh… No, thank you,” Ema responded.

Kay about smacked Mr. Shields there but didn’t. “So, who do you believe did it, Miss Skye?” Kay asked.

Skye was silent for a moment as she looked at the emotional Fukawa. She then placed her hands on the shoulders of Kay and Raymond, and urged them back away from the glass so that Fukawa couldn’t hear them.

“I… I honestly don’t know. Celestia claimed to see Fujisaki, and since Fujisaki was biologically male, she could’ve followed him into the men’s locker room, killed him there, and then brought him into the female locker room using her own I.D,” Skye responded.

Kay started waving her hands about. “Wait, wait, hold the phone! I haven’t been briefed on anything involving this case! What is this about locker rooms?”

“I can brief you later. I have already gone over everything,” Ray responded.“Kay-pie here just got out of school an hour ago, so she wasn’t with me when I was talking with Naegi.”

“Well then, have I got just the perfect thing for you!” Ema said, pulling out a giant folder out of her back and pushing it into Kay’s arms. “Here is everything I have on the case.”

“E-Everything?” Kay asked. “Really? Aren’t you detectives supposed to work for the prosecutors? You shouldn’t be giving us this stuff!”

Ema sighed. “If Blackquill were entirely convinced this girl was guilty, I wouldn’t be giving you all of this. As it is, I know he believed Byakuya Togami is to blame. After all, all the evidence points to him trying to frame Fukawa. However, the students believe Mondo Oowada did it. The other detectives, Gumshoe and Badd, believe that Fukawa and Celestia did it respectively. There was even a rookie who believed Kirigiri must’ve done it, since she was the only one who thought to check Fujisaki’s biological sex*,” Ema responded. “However, since Fukawa confessed on record, Togami denies the allegations and is hiding behind his family’s army of lawyers, and the only recorded confession we have is Fukawa’s, no matter how doubtful it is, we have to prosecute her.”

“That poor thing,” Ray responded.

“It gets worse. There are only so many students still alive that we can call as witnesses. Since we are trying to only call those with strong connections to each case, Fukawa is a defendant, and Celestia is dead, the prosecution has no choice but to call Byakuya Togami to the stand.”

“Why is that a problem?” Kay asked.

“Because Fukawa has… well, I wouldn’t call it a crush, more like an obsession over Byakuya Togami. Just from the few recorded conversations on the security footage, you can tell that she would do anything for him, and he knows this. Fukawa originally confessed to being Genocide Jill to Togami, and he used that information to try and frame her for this particular murder. He has no empathy, he knows how to manipulate her, and she doesn’t care if he does.”

“You believe he is going to cause her to confess in court,” Ray realized.

“If we can get her to court, then yes,” Skye responded. “It is pretty well known among the students that Fukawa’s love for Togami is very one-sided. He was verbally abusive to her during their days in the school. We have footage of him calling her garbage on a regular basis. Her obsession made him uncomfortable, and I don’t doubt he would use her as a scapegoat.”

“Ray, this is bad!” Kay exclaimed.

“It gets even worse: he is preparing in case she doesn’t get convicted. Despite most people believing in Oowada or Fukawa’s guilt, Togami has a defense attorney already lined up.”

“Who is it?” Ray asked.

“I don’t know since no formal charges against Byakuya have been made, thus no paperwork has been filed for an attorney,” Ema replied, popping a few more Snackoos. “But, given that he is a member of the Togami Group, I imagine the attorney won’t play fair.”

“Do you think he will forge evidence?” Kay asked.

“Forging evidence might be more difficult than you would think. After all, Monokuma cleaned up each of the crime scenes after the Class Trials, so it would be hard to convince the judge you have found ‘new evidence’. More than likely, they will try something like kidnapping, blackmail, bribery, or any number of illegal things,” Skye responded. “I heard Detective Badd talking about the Togami Group. They aren’t the type you should mess around with.”

Ray shrugged. “Well, before we can deal with that, we have to convince Fukawa to go to court. If she pleads guilty and refuses to go, we are sunk.”

Ema nodded. “Well, I wish you the best of luck. I have to get back to the lab to run some lab work on some of the other bodies. Oh! If anyone asks, I didn’t give you those files.”

Raymond nodded. “Of course, now how about a goodbye hug, Skye-pie?” he suggested, his arms spread out wide.

Ema popped another Snackoo in her mouth, chewed, swallowed, and then spoke. “How about: No,” she responded, and popped yet another Snackoo into her mouth as she walked out.

 _At least he didn’t try and hug the serial killer_ , Kay thought as she turned to look at Fukawa. _Then again, the serial killer looks the person who could use the hug the most._

“So, she likes Byakuya Togami…” Ray mused.

“Yeah, who sounds like a big jerk!” Kay commented.

Ray smiled. “Kay-pie, do you happen to have a picture of Byakuya Togami in that file Emma gave you?” he asked. Kay began to flip through it. There were pictures of Fujisaki’s body from different angles, pictures of the words “blood bath fever” written on the walls, pictures of a bloodied weight, pictures of previous victims of Genocide Jill, pictures of bloodied scissors… Kay felt nauseous.

“Here, let me look through…”

“I am fine. I got this. I looked through the original Genocide Jack file after all,” Kay insisted, and flipped through until she found pictures labeled “interactions the day before”. It was then that Kay realized what Ema had meant by Fukawa’s Obsession. Most of the pictures with Fukawa were of her hiding behind something, staring at Togami from afar. Once in awhile, there was a photo of Togami yelling at Fukawa. Overall, it was pretty creepy.

Ray pointed at a picture of Togami reading a file in the library. It was a close-up image of his face as he gazed into some sort of file. “That one will work,” Ray responded. He pulled it out the file and held it up to the glass.

“Miss Fukawa, I believe this belongs to you,” Ray responded.

“No it doesn’t!” Kay responded, but Raymond wasn’t paying attention to her. He waited for the girl to slowly raise her head and realize what was being held out to her. Fukawa placed one hand on the wall and stood up, her eyes focused on the photograph.

Kay began looking for whatever it was that made Ray have so much faith in this girl. She didn’t exactly look like the most trustworthy person. There were bags under her eyes and her skin looked like it hadn’t seen the light of day for a very long time. She kept grabbing her braids and twisting them around her hands like a nervous twitch. Her eyes kept darting from the picture to Ray and then back to the picture.

Fukawa finally made her way to the glass. “M-my darling Byakuya…” she murmured.

Ray smiled and turned to the guard. “Anyway we could get this picture to her?” he asked.

The guard** shrugged, “I don’t see why not, but I can’t leave this post right now. I will come and pick it up after Fukawa has been taken back to her cell, and give it to her then.”

“Thanks!’ Ray responded. “Alright, Fukawa, we will give this to you on the condition that you talk with us.”

“W-why would I? Y-you probably already hate m-me anyway…” she muttered.

“Now why would you think that?” Raymond asked.

“B-because everyone hates me… especially n-now...:”

“I am your defense attorney, and it is strictly against my personal code to hate a client. I am here to help you, and it is hard to hate someone you are helping,” Raymond stated. “Speaking of which, I don’t think we were properly introduced. I am Raymond Shields, and my companion here is the Great Thief Yatagarasu, or as most people affectionately call her: Kay Faraday.”

“N-not that you'll remember my n-name anyway, but... I'm T-Toko... Toko Fukawa,” she responded softly, not making eye contact.

“Alright, it is a pleasure to meet you!” Ray said, once again doing his typical hat-off bow. “I wanted to ask you about what happened to Chihiro Fujisaki,” Ray said.

“I-I already t-talked to the police! I t-told them everything! What more do you want from m-me?” she yelled, her hands pulling at the hair on her scalp. Kay gasped at the sudden mood change, but Ray was relatively unreactive. Kay began to wonder about what his other clients were like if this woman didn’t even phase him.

“I heard that you told them everything,” he said, while he used the pointer and middle fingers on each hand to make a sarcastic quotation-mark gesture***. “Now, how about you tell me the truth?”

“I t-told them the truth!”

“You told them you killed Chihiro Fujisaki,” Raymond stated. “And I don’t believe that for a second.”

“I-I’m Genocide J-Jill! I k-killed people!” she exclaimed.

Raymond smiled. “It is not a contradiction for a defense attorney to have faith in a serial killer if that serial killer is their client. As I said before, it is my job to defend you in court...”

“I-I am not g-going to c-c-court,” Fukawa cut him off. “I confessed! I d-don’t have to go to c-c-court!”

Raymond looked at Kay, and then back a Fukawa. _So, she confessed so she wouldn’t have to go to court. This may be tricky to undo, but I do have one ace up my sleeve_ , Raymond thought.“Miss Fukawa, when was the last time you saw Byakuya Togami?”

“M-Master? N-not since l-leaving the sch-school…”

“He will be at the trial tomorrow,” Raymond stated. Kay caught on quickly.

“And if you don’t go, you will be found guilty, and then you will be locked away where you won’t be able to see him ever again!” Kay added.

“Kay is exactly right. You need to go to court tomorrow, and there is no need to be afraid of going,” Raymond added. “I will be here and so will Kay. Naegi said he will be in the gallery as well...”

“And you’re sure Master Togami will be there…?” Fukawa asked.

“Absolutely positive,” Ray assured her.

Raymond put on a perfected smile as Kay realized the mistake they were making. They were giving Togami more power over Fukawa, and that was only going to make this trial harder. However, if she didn’t go to court, there wasn’t going to be a trial at all, only a sentence. Uncle Ray’s grin didn’t falter. “Byakuya Togami will be there as well. Do you understand? There is nothing to be afraid of! We are all going to be here for you so that you can win and see Togami anytime you want!”

 _We just won’t tell her that we mean she can see him anytime since he will be in prison_ , Kay thought. _Even if he is innocent of the murder, he messed with the crime scene which makes him an accomplice._

“All you need to do is tell Prosecutor Blackquill you’ve decided to go to court,” Raymond finished.

With that, Fukawa jumped up and ran to the guard, insisting he get in contact with Prosecutor Blackquill. Raymond stood up with Kay and waved to his client through the glass. “I will see you tomorrow!” Raymond responded.

 

“It was hard to find a good lawyer.

Honestly, I don’t even know why I did it.

I suppose, despite what she’s done, she is one of us.

With her family having abandoned her, we are all she has left…”

 

“We are defending a serial killer.

She admitted to being a serial killer.

I hope Uncle Ray know’s what he's doing.

If she attacks him…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Notes: *This was most certainly DeBeste. Edgeworth just kept shaking his head in shame.  
> **The guard did a lot more during this that I expected him to, thus he should probably have a name. I am calling him Douglas Nicholas, because I can.  
> *** Wasn’t quite sure how to describe this. I did the best I could, but if you can’t picture it, I am trying to describe this sprite of him: http://i.imgur.com/rmJUIgL.gif ]


	5. Don't Give up Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial for Chihiro Fujisaki commences, and Togami isn't about to give an inch. With both the prosecution and the defense believing in Toko Fukawa's innocence, this trial will be a long and heated one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Alright, so I've discovered that everyone has strong opinions on Byakuya Togami, one way or another. He is one of those "love them or hate them" characters. So, I did my best to make this chapter as close to the real Byakuya as possible, and not let personal opinions get in the way. Also, I didn't have my normal time to read through this as thoroughly as I would like, but it is already late, so I am posting it.
> 
> That being said, I've decided the Jury System is going to be used from here on out. By that, I mean I have a survey at the end for you to vote on who you want to be guilty (there are also other questions). Basically, I want my readers to tell me how they want the story to go, and I will write it as such! The survey will be in the bottom notes.

* * *

 

**Chapter 5: Don’t Lose Hope**

 

Byakuya had been sitting in the lobby, waiting to be called to the stand for the last three hours. He had long since finished the book he brought to entertain himself, and he was becoming quite irritable. The only time he had been out of the room was for the thirty-minute break to get lunch before the trial started up again. Other than that, there had been a few five or ten-minute recesses here and there, but whenever the prosecutor came in, he would refuse to answer any of Byakuya’s questions. Given Blackquill’s history as an inmate, and the fact that he was now allowed to bring his katana into court, Byakuya didn’t try to push his luck with the man.

 _Why is it the prosecution is allowed to bring weapons into the courtroom?_ Byakuya thought. _There is that Von Karma woman with her whip, Blackquill with his Katana, and that Gadot guy who would throw his coffee mug like it was a grenade. There are even rumors that judge whose gavel extended into a staff that could be used to bludgeon someone to death. Yet they call the class trials uncivilized. At least no one got injured during the proceedings_ , Togami reasoned.

It was almost two o’clock when the door opened, and someone other than Blackquill came through the door. It was a man wearing a blue uniform, and Togami assumed this was the bailiff. _So the prosecutor can’t even be bothered to come and get me himself? Who does he think I am?_ Byakuya thought.

“Mr. Togami, your presence has been requested in the courtroom!” the overly enthusiastic man declared. He had a megaphone in his hand. Why does a bailiff need a megaphone? Togami couldn’t even hazard a guess. The bailiff did a three finger salute and tried to stand as straight as possible, which only lead Togami to deduce he was probably new to being a court bailiff. He clearly had no idea what he was doing.

 _Not only do they send a bailiff to fetch me like a common peasant, but they send a rookie who probably doesn’t even know who he is dealing with_ , Togami mused angrily as he followed the bailiff.

As he walked in, the prosecution’s eyes followed him with cold indifference. His hawk, Taka, was sitting on his shoulder, staring Togami down like a piece of meat. Even the defense attorney seem displeased, which was surprising since the few times Togami had seen him, the guy was always smiling like an idiot. Next to him was a girl who looked like she was pouting, and for the first time Togami realized he was alone.

For the class trials, at least he had the help and support of Naegi and Kirigiri. Granted, they clearly didn’t care for Togami as a person, but they had to work together in order to survive. They may have hated him, but they had no choice but to work with him. Today, there was no one in the courtroom who was going to fight for Togami. Well, maybe Fukawa would, but that was the last person Togami wanted on his side.

 _That is fine,_ he decided. _I am a Togami and a Togami does not hide with his tail between his legs. Let them come at me; They have no evidence._

Blackquill turned his back to Togami, resting his elbow on the table before him. “Witness, give your name and occupation.”

Togami gave the prosecutor a disinterested sideways glance and waited for a few moments. He wasn’t about to give this man the upperhand. If this man wanted to be rude and try and order around a witness as important as Byakuya Togami, that was fine. However, he was going to know that intimidation wasn’t going to work on the great...

Togami’s thoughts were quickly interrupted by a hawk flying towards him. Togami instinctively blocked his face with his hands and turned to the side to avoid the beast’s bloodthirsty claws as it squawked a battle cry. “Augh! Get this idiotic bird away from me!” Togami cried while weaving in and out, trying to avoid being clawed to bits.

Prosecutor Blackquill whistled and the hawk returned. “This is Taka, my faithful companion, and he is far from idiotic. He is intelligent enough to know when a witness is being uncooperative, and he will not tolerate disobedience witnesses,” Blackquill stated with a smile. “Now, if you would answer my question...”

“Name’s Byakuya Togami. My occupation is Ultimate Affluent Progeny at Hope’s Peak Academy, as well as heir to the Togami Corporation,” Byakuya stated, regaining his composure.

“Good, I didn’t figure a man of your status would have such trouble with such a simple question,” Blackquill responded. Togami felt rage boiling inside him. This mere prosecutor was mocking him. Maybe some witnesses would let him get away with that, but not Byakuya Togami. He had a name to uphold and…

“The defense has requested testimony about your manipulation of the crime scene,” Blackquill stated. “Please testify on the matter.”

Byakuya adjusted his glasses and focused. He needed to stick to his guns. He couldn’t go to prison. He had a family name to live up to, and there was no use going to prison to protect someone who was already doomed. Oowada was dead anyway. Fukawa would be going to prison for other crimes. Byakuya didn’t owe them a damn thing.

 

TESTIMONY: MANIPULATING THE CRIME SCENE

  * I did nothing to the crime scene.



 

The court was silent for several moments before the judge spoke. “W-wow, that was short. If that is all, I guess you may cross-examine the witness, Mr. Shields.”

“W-wait, t-that’s it?” Ray stammered.

Blackquill hit his hand on the desk before him. “Witness! I don’t think you realize how much evidence we have about your involvement,” he stated, leaning forward.

“A lie like that will not hold up in court and will only hurt your credibility,” Raymond added.

“Oh, I know exactly what kind of evidence you have. You know that the only two people who knew about Genocide Jack were that piece of trash Toko and myself. You know that the crime scene was moved from the men’s locker room to the women’s locker room, and made to look like a Genocide Jack killing. You know that her body was held up by the extension cord I was using in the library. None of that points to me manipulating the crime scene. To top that all off, you have testimony about my so-called ‘confession’ from people who are clearly trying to protect Toko Fukawa.”

“You claim the other students have a bias against you?” Blackquill asked.

“Not against me, rather towards Fukawa. Makoto Naegi is the one who requested a defense attorney for Fukawa despite the fact that she had confessed to the murder. Then, he goes on to testify that I confessed to manipulating the crime scene? I find that suspicious, don’t you?” Togami responded.

“Why would they try and protect someone they knew was guilty?” Blackquill asked. “Especially someone who confessed to being a serial killer and was a danger to their safety.”

“How am I supposed to understand the thoughts of plebeians?” Togami responded. “Although, if I recall correctly, all the students believe that Oowada killed Fujisaki, so they are protecting someone they believe is innocent.”

“Witness, would you please add the bit about the other students’ bias to your testimony?” Ray asked. Togami nodded. “While you are at it, why don’t you include the stuff about the evidence.”

Togami pushed up his glasses. “I will repeat myself as many times as necessary so that your plebeian mind can grasp my logic.”

 

TESTIMONY: MANIPULATING THE CRIME SCENE

  * I did nothing to the crime scene.
  * The crime scene was moved and made to look like a Genocide Jack killing.
  * The only two people who knew about Genocide Jack were that piece of trash Toko and myself.
  * The body was held up by an extension cord I was using in the library, but anyone could’ve taken it.
  * You know that her body was held up by the extension cord I was using in the library.
  * None of that points to me manipulating the crime scene.
  * The testimony that you gathered is faulty and biased.



 

Raymond smiled. “Your logic is that the testimony that we gathered was faulty because all the students are trying to save Fukawa, whom they believe is innocent.”

“Are you finally starting to understand? You can repeat it a few more times if you need to,” Togami responded, arms crossed.

“No, I just wanted to make sure you wanted to stick by that flawed testimony,” Raymond responded.

“Excuse me?” Togami exclaimed. “Flawed? There is no way my testimony is anything short of perfect”

“Really? Then let me ask you this: Why do think all the students are convinced of Fukawa’s innocence?” Raymond asked.

“Because they aren’t the greatest at deducing the truth.”

“That is strange, isn’t it? If they are so bad at deducing the truth, shouldn’t they all have come to different conclusions?’ Mr. Shields responded. “The fact is, they all believe that Oowada killed Fujisaki because Oowada confessed. If they all believe that it was _you_ and _you alone_ who moved and manipulated the crime scene, I am inclined to believe that it because _you_ confessed.”

“What you are inclined to believe is irrelevant. Your beliefs are not evidence, and you need evidence to convict me,” Togami responded. “It is just as likely, if not more likely that Fukawa followed Fujisaki into the boy’s locker room, killed him, and then used her own I.D. to move the crime scene into the girl’s locker room…”

“Objection!” Raymond exclaimed, and Togami was stunned into silence. “Witness, could you remind the court of all the items that were moved from the boys’ locker room to the girls’ locker room?”

“The rug, the lifting weight, the poster, and the body,” Togami responded.

“That is a lot of things, right? Surely that must’ve taken multiple trips,” Ray responded. “Fukawa’s I.D. would only get her into the girls’ locker room, so she couldn’t go back to the boys’ locker room…”

“Are you really that much of an idiot?” Togami interrupted. “All she would have to do is use Fujisaki’s I.D. to go…”

“Objection!” Raymond exclaimed again. “Fujisaki’s I.D. was broken in the sauna. It couldn’t have been used to get back into the boys’ locker room.”

“When? When was the I.D. broken?” Togami asked. “After all, Fujisaki used the I.D. to go into the locker room, so it only makes sense that it was broken after their death. I suppose Fukawa killed Fujisaki, then used their I.D. to move the body, then broke the I.D. in the sauna.”

“Objection!” Raymond exclaimed for the third time. “Fukawa didn’t know how to break the I.D.’s, and thus she couldn’t have been the person who broke Fujisaki’s I.D.”

Togami was silent for a moment. “That doesn’t change the fact that she could’ve used Fujisaki’s I.D. to get into the boys’ locker room after his death. The only thing that changes is that Oowada broke Fujisaki’s I.D. after the body was discovered in order to hide Fujisaki’s gender.”

“Why would Oowada do that?” Blackquill asked.

“He said something about keeping his secret and not disgracing his memory or something like that,” Togami responded. “As I said before, it is difficult to understand the thoughts of plebeians. Either way, he confessed to breaking the I.D. and you can ask Kirigiri or Naegi about that if you don’t believe me.”

“So, the current theory is that Fukawa-dono followed the late Fujisaki-dono into the boys’ locker room, killed him, and then stole his I.D. and her I.D. in order to move his body into the girl’s locker room,” Blackquill recapped. “Any objections, attorney?”

Ray tapped his fingers together. “Yeah, actually I do. How did Toko know that Fujisaki was going to the gym that night?”

“You could say the same about me, though. You claim that I went and messed with the crime scene before anyone else discovered it, how would I know there would be one there?” Togami responded.

“Actually, that problem could be solved quite easily, since you are male yourself,” Ray responded. “You went to the gym that night to work out, ran into either Fujisaki or their body in the locker room…”

“Fujisaki or her body? Are you implying that I killed Fujisaki?”

“I am saying that it is equally as likely as Fukawa killing them,” Raymond stated.

“For some reason, I was under the impression that the person who confessed would be the main suspect in this case,” Togami exclaimed.

“Well, you see, I am not entirely certain that her confession was legit,” Ray responded. “Judge, I would like to request that we bring in the defendant to testify about that.”

“So, I am done here?” Togami asked.

“No, you are going to sit here in case we have questions for you,” Blackquill responded.

 _They are all against me_ , Byakuya thought as the panic began to set inside his stomach. He walked down towards a chair next to the prosecution bench as his mind began racing. _The prosecutor believes I killed him. The attorney believes I killed him. Even the girl at his side is glaring at me like she believes I killed him._

The bailiff, Mike Meekins, came in with a shaking and clearly upset Toko Fukawa. She kept glancing at Kay and Raymond, who gave smiles of encouragement as she took the stand. She kept biting her thumbnail and her eyes shifted around the room before she finally spotted Byakuya Togami.

“M-my darling B-Bya…” she began to stammer.

“Shut up,” Togami stated.

“That is no way to treat a lady,” Ray responded. “Now, pretty lady, what is your name and occupation?”

“You’ve already forgotten m-me?” Toko said. “I s-should have f-f-figured.”

“No, of course not! I never forget a client, especially one as lovely as yourself,” Raymond assured her. “You simply need to introduce yourself to the court.”

“M-my name’s T-Toko Fukawa. I-I’m a writer,” she stated.

“Miss Toko, the court would like to hear your confession, the one you told Prosecutor Blackquill during questioning,” Raymond responded.

 

TESTIMONY: TOKO’S CONFESSION

  * I k-killed Chihiro Fujisaki.
  * I... I b-bashed their head i-in with a weight.
  * I d-did it! I am s-s-sure I did it!



 

“That seems like a pretty open and close confession,” Blackquill noted, and Byakuya relaxed slightly. They couldn’t argue with that. There was no way they could argue with that.

“I am sure I did it,” Ray repeated. “That is an interesting choice of wording, isn’t it? Why wouldn’t you be sure?”

“I… I am s-sure!”

“Yes, you said that already. However, that point shouldn’t need to be stated, unless you aren’t trying to convince us. You are trying to convince yourself. Toko, why wouldn’t you be sure if you killed Chihiro Fujisaki?”

“I am! I am c-completely s-sure!”

“Let me change the question slightly. According to the file on Genocide Jack, or Genocide Jill as you call her, you have multiple personalities, correct? One of them is Genocide Jill,” Raymond stated. “Toko, do you remember everything that Genocide Jill does?”

“D-do I r-remember? I… I… Uh...”

“Please answer the question, slayeress-dono” Blackquill responded. The girl shifted her eyes about the room, purposefully avoiding the prosecutor’s face. She felt like she was shrinking under his gaze. No, it wasn’t just his; The whole room was staring at her, waiting for her to fail. Everyone had already judged her. They knew what Genocide Jill was, and there was no way they were going to forgive her for it. She was the scum criminals they wanted off the street…

Then she spotted them in the gallery. Naegi was sitting there with what looked to be his little sister on his right. On his left was Asahina, and next to her was Hagakure and Kirigiri. Hagakure looked like he was praying, while Kirigiri’s hate-filled gate was directed directly at Togami. Aoi’s expression was blank and completely void of emotion, but Naegi was mouthing something… “don’t lose hope”? That was right, hope...

“N-no, I d-don’t,” Toko admitted.

“So, did you kill Chihiro Fujisaki, or did Genocide Jill?” Ray asked.

“I don’t… I mean…” Toko said. “I… I don’t remember…”

“If you don’t remember, why did you confess?” Blackquill asked, slamming his fists down.

“I… It is just… I… I…” Toko stammered. She glanced at Byakuya who was white as a sheet. He wasn’t pleased. She had done something to upset her darling Byakuya, and that set her more on edge. She felt the room tip slightly as her brain tried to process the amount of stress she was feeling. “It’s… I… I can’t…”

“Calm down, Toko. It is going to be perfectly fine. I promise,” Ray stated.

“Yeah! We are going to prove your innocence!” Kay exclaimed. “We believe in you!”

“Miss Fukawa, please answer the question,” the judge interjected.

“I… I confessed b-because… it… b-because I w-was waiting t-that e-evening,” Toko finished.

“What do you mean, you were waiting?” Ray asked.

 

TESTIMONY: WAITING

  * T-that e-evening, I was w-waiting outside t-the library for m-my darling Byakuya…
  * I… I was st-startled b-by a noise from b-behind, and p-passed out.
  * P-passing out is G-Genocide Jill’s tr-trigger!
  * I d-don’t remember anything else, I swear!



“So, the little slayeress-dono doesn’t remember the murder, but since she passed out she assumed Genocide Jill killed him,” Blackquill pondered.

“However, it is quite possible that it was Mondo Oowada who startled Toko Fukawa, and that the rest of the class was right about him having killed Fujisaki,” Ray noted. “Or it could’ve been Togami.”

“It wasn’t me,” Togami stated. “By the time I came out of the Library, Fujisaki was already dead.”

“Interesting, how do you know that?” Ray asked with a smile.

“Silence!” Blackquill exclaimed. “We are not cross-examining Togami-dono at this moment. Instead, why don’t you cross-examine slayeress-dono instead?”

“Alright, Toko, why don’t you agree with your classmates?’ Ray asked. “Everyone else believes that Oowada killed them. Why don’t you?”

“Oowada… he c-clearly had f-feelings for Fujisaki, strong f-feelings,” Toko stated, tapping her two pointer fingers together and blushing. “L-like f-fanfiction worthy f-feelings…”

Ray’s eyes got wide and his eyebrows raised in surprise. Kay looked to him. “Uncle Ray, what does she mean by ‘fanfiction worthy’?”

“I… uh… w-why don’t you ask Edgeworth when you get back home?” Ray suggested. “A-anyway, continue, Toko.”

“It d-doesn’t make sense that Oowada would kill Fujisaki!” Toko declared. “W-we accepted his confession b-because of Monokuma, but… w-what if he lied? I-Ishimaru d-didn’t believe it either… A-and i-if it wasn’t Mondo… it must’ve b-been m-me…it must’ve b-been m-me…”

Toko’s hands had grasped the railing in front of her as if the ground beneath her was going to drop out at any second. The world was spinning. Everyone was staring. She shouldn’t have been here. She should’ve stayed in the detention center, away from people. Everything about this stressed her out: recalling her school days, all the people staring at her, being a damn courtroom again, and most of all the doubts. She doubted everything. Every person who came up and questioned her during the investigation had a different theory, and they were all colliding in her head, destroying her own thoughts until only two things remained: guilt and fear. After all, if she passed out now… if Genocide Jill came out now…

What if she hurt another person?

The world was spinning, and the floor was about to pay a visit to Toko’s face.

 

“I was a convict and a prosecutor at the same time.

I think I can handle a school girl’s second personality.

Still, I believe this girl is innocent, just as I was.

I may be a prosecutor, but I won’t stop until the truth is discovered”

 

“I can’t be found guilty, or I will bring shame to the Togami name.

However, proving Oowada’s guilt is too difficult.

All the evidence around him is circumstantial or nonexistent.

Since Toko is already going to prison, she’s the only guiltless way out.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GENOCIDE JILL IS COMING SOON...
> 
> The Jury System Survey:  
> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MTLTGLK  
> Results will be taken until 6/17/2016 at noon.


	6. Side Story: You Don't Have to be Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We interrupt the trial for Fujisaki to bring you a flashback from a few days prior. This honestly could be a one-shot, but since it involves Ace Attorney characters and fits perfectly into this crossover, I decided to include it in the Despair's Final Trial series.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I woke up this morning with inspiration, so I needed to write. Since the Jury hasn't officially finished deciding the fate of Fukawa, Togami, and the others in Fujisaki's case, I decided to write a little flashback. This also explains Aoi's reaction during Toko's trial. Enjoy!

* * *

 

**Side Story: You Don’t Have To Be Fine**

**[A Few Days Earlier]**

 

There were eleven funerals for Makoto to attend in a span of a few days. His sister, Komaru, sent with him to each and every one. Partially, she was there to support him through the difficult time. She was also there to protect him. Some of the families weren’t exactly pleasant to the other students, knowing that they might’ve voted for their child’s execution.

“I told them, the best thing they could do was not give the families details. Simply tell them a madwoman killed their child,” Kirigiri said. “Now that they know the rules of the game, they will forever have to debate whether or not their child was capable and guilty of killing another student.”

“It is worse than that, Kirigiri,” Naegi responded. “The police haven’t told the families who was a victim and who was a killer since they are waiting for the trials to finish before they give an official verdict. So they are learning about what happened from the trials and whatever the press manages to leak about the cases. Until the trials finish, if they decide their child isn’t capable of being a killer, they have to guess at who it was that murdered them.”

“Turn left up here,” Kirigiri told the driver. “We need to pick up someone on this street.”

“Yes, Miss,” the driver responded.

“Remind me to thank Togami for helping us get there,” Naegi responded. “It was nice of him to help us out. Maybe he is having a change of heart about us ‘plebeians’?”

“I wouldn’t say that. After all, he is so superior to all of us, and he would never miss an opportunity to show it,” Kirigiri responded.

The car pulled into a parking lot beside an old apartment building and sat there for several moments before a door swung open. Out walked Aoi, dragging a sleepy Hagakure behind. She pushed Hagakure into the front seat, while Aoi sat beside Kirigiri in the middle. “Hey, guys! I am sorry that it took so long,” Aoi said. “Hagakure refused to get up. I seriously shook him awake twice, sprayed water on him one…”

“Which was totally uncalled for,” Hagakure protested.

“And eventually I simply tipped the bed sideways and let him roll out,” Aoi stated, quite proud of herself. “I have never met someone so lazy in my entire life!”

“Hey! A man needs his rest!”  
“Yeah, he needs eight hours of sleep, not eighteen! Seriously, that is all he did from the time I arrived at his house yesterday,” Aoi stated. She was clearly pouting. From what Naegi had gathered, Aoi hadn’t had much contact with people since leaving the school. Her parents were phobic of anyone and everyone, so she must’ve been looking forward to being around people again.

“I am surprised that he  _ can  _ sleep, given the Mafia is after him again,” Kirigiri responded.

“About that…” Hagakure began.

“Oh God, Hagakure! what did you do?” Aoi demanded.

“N-nothing! I swear it, but… the Mafia apparently is not going to murder me,” Hagakure stated.

“Is this another one of your crackpot prophecies again? Because if you are putting your life on the line because you saw your own reflection in that crystal ball of yours…” Aoi began to rant.

“No! No, they told me this themselves!” Hagakure stated. “They won’t kill me as long as I tell them everything I know about Hope’s Peak.”

“Why do they want to know about Hope’s Peak?” Naegi asked.

“What do you want to bet that the press is getting their information about Hope’s Peak from there, and they are probably paying a pretty penny for it,” Kirigiri deduced.

“M-maybe, but I think it has to do with their son,” Hagakure noted.

“Wha t do you mean, their son?” Kirigiri asked.

“I… I can’t tell you or else…” Hagakure began stammering. Naegi, Aoi, and Kirigiri all glared at him, and his whole demeanor broke. “You did not hear this from me, but It seems their son Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu and his hitwoman Peko Pekoyama were attending Hope’s Peak Academy. They were in the class above us. However, they seemed to have gone missing the same day that the school locked us in.”

“Yes, I heard that the other classes haven’t been found,” Kirigiri stated.

“Which is a problem! If I don’t help them find their kid, they are going to kill me!” Hagakure exclaimed as his hands subconsciously grabbed at his hair. That was a nervous twitch both he and Toko had, which fascinated Kirigiri. Those two were similar in many ways.

“Well, it is a good thing that you know a good detective,” Naegi stated, glancing at Kirigiri beside him.

“... Detective Gumshoe?”

“He means Kirigiri, you moron!” Aoi exclaimed, smacking him upside the head. “You will help him, won’t you, Kirigiri?”

“I must admit, I am intrigued about the whole situation,” Kirigiri noted with a smile. “I will assist you in investigating further after the memorial.”

“Thank you so much!” Hagakure exclaimed. “I am going to live! I am going to live!” he squealed in delight.

“We are here,” Kirigiri stated as the car pulled into the parking lot for Hope’s Peak Academy. There was a crowd growing around the main garden. The press was being held back by police officers, while cameras flashed and microphones were waved around like clubs.

“We are going to have to make a run for it,” Kirigiri stated.

“Aw yeah! I’ve been waiting for a good run!” Asahina exclaimed. “Time to get the blood pumping!”

“Do we really have to?” Hagakure asked.

“If you don’t want to get mauled over by the press, the yes,” Naegi responded. At that moment, everyone opened up their doors and darted towards the sea of cameramen and news reporters. The police saw them coming and attempted to force an opening in the crowd. Aoi slipped through with ease. Kirigiri wasn’t far behind, but Naegi was slowed down by Hagakure. They ended up have to push their way through, half blinded by flashing cameras and bruised by microphones.

Eventually, they made it through to the garden where there was now a giant, horizontal, polished stone with the names of all the people killed during the High School Life of Mutual Killing.

“It is really wide,” Aoi noted. She was right. There was only one column of names, but you could put two more on either side and still have space left over.

“They are expecting they will have to write more names as soon as they find the other students,” Kirigiri responded, walking up to the stone. Her gloved fingers reached out and touched a single name at the top of the stone. It seemed the names were in alphabetical order, except for this one. It only made sense that the headmaster’s name would be separated from the students.

Naegi put a hand on her shoulder. “I am so sorry, Kirigiri,” he whispered. Kirigiri bit her lip and shrugged.

“I am alright,” Kirigiri stated, weakly.

“Kirigiri… you don’t have to be. It is okay to cry now. There are no more trials, no more tests of logic. You can cry for him now,” he said softly. With that, Kirigiri felt tears fall down her cheeks. She began to sob as Makoto held her. 

Asahina sat on the ground, staring at Sakura’s name and mouthing some last words and promises to her friend. She promised to be brave, strong, and as kind as Sakura had always been. She promised to protect her fellow classmates, forgive those that had hurt them, and to never stop moving forward. Most of all, she promised to never give up hope.

“Hey, Toko is here!” Hagakure exclaimed as Toko Fukawa was escorted in by two police officers. Her hands were in handcuffs, and she looked less than pleased to be around so many people, but Naegi was happy to see her all the same.

Behind her stood a grown man in a pinkish-purplish suit and a cravat. Makoto thought he had seen him on the new after the incident but had no idea who he was or why he was here. The man bowed politely to the group and then motioned for the guards to allow Toko to go up to the new monument.

“I thought she would be in a holding cell awaiting trial,” Naegi stated.

“She was, and she will return to one as soon as this is over,” the man responded. “Normally, a suspect wouldn’t be allowed out of the holding cell, but I felt this should be made a special exception.”

“I suppose that is the Togami power at work, eh?” Hagakure laughed. It was this type of talk that got him into so much trouble on a regular basis, yet he refused to tone down his speech.

“No, the Togami power is the ability to buy up the school during a police investigation and place a memorial here. This is the power of a Chief Prosecutor with a moral compass,” the man responded, and sat down in one of the folding chairs they had set up for the service.

Aoi stood up and looked at Toko. “Are… are you alright, Toko?” Aoi asked. She had hated Fukawa during the Mutual Killing, but she was clearly doing her best to try and overcome it. She had made a promise to Sakura to forgive them and protect them like she did. Aoi was going to do her best to keep that promise.

“N-no! No, I am no alright! T-too many people… e-everyone here…” Toko stammered. Her hands fidgeted. “W-where is m-my Byakuya?”

“I am not your Byakuya,” Togami responded, walking through the crowd with ease. “I apologize for the amount of press, but I figured that if we gave them access to this memorial service…”

“They wouldn’t show up at the funerals,” Kirigiri finished, wiping tears from her eyes. “Yes, that makes sense.”

Togami was clearly taken aback with the sight of Kirigiri crying, but Makoto had come to understand that all his classmates, despite their talents, were human. They had emotions, and at that moment, they were all feeling pain. He couldn’t imagine any of the students, alive or dead, that wouldn’t cry after surviving what they had survived. Makoto looked to Kirigiri. “Are you going to be alright?” he asked.

She nodded. “I… I will be fine,” she stated, wiping her eyes once again. “What about you?”

“I am fine for the moment,” Naegi said. He looked at the podium next to the memorial. “However, after I speak up there, I don’t think I will be.”

“That is alright. You don’t have to be. It is okay to cry now. There are no more trials, no more tests of logic. You can cry for them now,” she said softly. Makoto nodded, fighting back the tears in his eyes.

“Let me get up to the podium first,” Naegi suggested, as Toko flew past him and grabbed onto Togami, sobbing. He was clearly uncomfortable with his own emotions, much less the wild emotions of Toko Fukawa, but he patted her back anyway. It was almost a robotic movement, and if it weren’t such an emotional moment, Naegi would’ve laughed at his inability to understand human contact.

“C-can someone… uh… help with this?” Togami asked. 

Aoi stepped forward and laid a hand on Toko’s shoulder. “It is going to be alright. The memorials, the funerals, and the trials… it will be hard, but we won’t abandon you Toko,” Aoi stated, tears falling down her cheeks. Makoto couldn't tell if the tears were for Toko, for the lost students, or for Aoi herself.

Hagakure forced a smile. “Yeah, and after this is all over, we will get ice cream or something.”

“Hagakure, she has to return to the detention center after this,” Kirigiri reminded him.

“Well, then we will bring her ice cream there!”

“I don’t think you can bring her food, and ice cream will melt before you get it to the detention center.”

Hagakure thought for a moment. “Then I will just get her ice cream now! Hold on a moment!” he said. Before anyone could stop him, he had pushed his way through the crowd, and half the paparazzi was following him. Aoi began giggling while Togami sighed. Naegi shot Kirigiri a smile.

Today was the public memorial for the students who were killed at Hope’s Peak Academy, and today it was okay to not be okay. They didn’t have to be fine, because they were together, supporting each other. They had survived Mutual Killing together, and now there was nothing that could tear them apart.

Well, except maybe the press. Naegi stared at the crowd. Hagakure would have his work cut out for him when he returned.


	7. She Made A Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion to the Chihiro Fujisaki trial. Genocide Jill makes an appearance, and Togami gets some character development.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Jury is in (And almost unanimous. The margin between 1st and 2nd place for all the questions was pretty extreme.)! It is time for the finale of Chihiro's Trial!
> 
> Writing Genocider Syo/Genocide Jack is HARD. I didn't expect it to be this difficult. I am still not sure I did her justice, but I did my best. I am so excited for this chapter, though! Togami's redemption was so much fun to write! Hope you all enjoy it! Also, there is another Jury Survey in the bottom notes! Have fun!

 

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 6: She Promised**

 

There was metal around her wrists. That was the first thing Jill noticed as she awoke on the floor of the courtroom. There were two faces staring down at her. One looked to be some sort of doctor. The other was someone entirely new. He was a guy and a pretty cute one at that. As he noticed her eyes flicker open, a smile spread across his kind face and his eyes squinted ever so slightly while he grinned like an adorable idiot. Jill wanted to slice him open.

She went to pull out the scissors that she always had on her, but was held back by a force upon her wrists. As she looked up, she realized her hands were handcuffed together and chained to the railing above her. The man put a hand on her back.

“Here, I will help you up,” he said, and he aided her up into a sitting position, and  then took her by the waist and helped her stand. “Are you alright, Miss?” he asked.

Jill pulled on her chains and attempted to find her scissors so she could stab this guy's lovely face, only to find that they were missing. “Am I alright? No, of course I am not alright, you idiot! Where are my scissors! I want to put some holes through that lovely skin of yours,” Jill exclaimed, blushing, giggling, and tugging on the chains. “You would look fantastic with a bit more blood on you…”

Ray raised his hands in the air. “Sorry, miss, but I like to believe most of my charm is found in my personality which is hard to show off while being murdered,” her responded. He then walked down back to the defense bench while the doctor returned to the side of the judge. He was ordered to stay in the room in case Toko/Jill passed out again.

“So, this is the serial killer,” Blackquill mused. “I once met a man in prison who told me the only difference between a serial killer and a lawful citizen is how they look at those around them. I must tell you, Ray-dono: This girl is looking at you like a piece of meat.”

“I am always flattered by the affections of a pretty lady,” Ray responded. “But I prefer that those affections don’t end in my death.”

The judge cleared his throat. “S-shall we continue with the trial?” he asked. The prosecution and defense both nodded. “Alright, Miss Toko…”

“Call me Genocide Jill,” Jill responded. “If you’re gonna address your friendly neighborhood serial killer, you should at least address me by the name you gave me!” she exclaimed, laughing maniacally.

“B-but, I thought everyone called you Genocide Jack!” Kay responded.

Jill pulled on her chains once more in fury. “Do I look like a guy to you?” she yelled. 

“B-but you said…”

“You will call me Genocide Jill, and that’s all!”

With that, Kay stayed silent. The judge cleared his throat once more. “Um… Jill, do you understand the position you are in?”

“I am standing in a courtroom, chained to a railing… someone has a kink, don’t they?” Jill stated and began laughing more.

The judge’s face went really red. He began stammering before Blackquill cut in. “You are being put on trial for the murder of Chihiro Fujisaki.”

“Again? Seriously?” Jill responded. “I didn’t kill the squirt. I mean, I probably would’ve if I knew he was a guy… actually, scratch that. He wasn’t hot enough. My murder is too full of love and passion to be wasted on...”

“Silence!” Blackquill said. “Witness, Toko is absolutely sure that you killed Chihiro Fujisaki. She even confessed to the murder.”

“Hey! She can’t confess for me! Only I can confess for me, and I didn’t kill the little pipsqueak!’ Jill responded. “The only reason it looked like one of my murders is because Togami changed up the crime scene. He didn’t even do it properly. There were plenty of scissors in the school. He should’ve used some of…”

“Silence! Togami there is denying messing with the crime scene, and you confessed to murdering him,” Blackquill stated.

“I did no such thing! It was that stupid Toko!” Jill responded.

Blackquill slammed his fists down on the banister. “You  _ are  _ Toko!” he exclaimed.

The judge hit his gavel several times. “Order! Order!” the judge responded. “Why don’t we have the defense inform…  _ Jill  _ about this case?”

Raymond nodded. “Alright, Jill, here is what is happening. Well, you already know that Toko confessed and Togami is denying manipulating the crime scene. While you were out, we sent Ema Skye to see if she could get the I.D. logs for the locker room,” Ray noted, looking at Togami. “We are waiting on the results of that right now. Also, we know the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, which isn’t your typical style,” Ray stated, making finger-quotes on the word ‘style’. He shrugged. 

“That has a simple explanation: she didn’t have access to scissors while inside the school,” Blackquill stated. 

“I did too! I still had all my Geno-scissors with me!” Jill stated, pointing an accusing finger at Blackquill. “You can ask the other students…”

“The thing is, slayeress-dono, we can’t. As Byakuya brought up earlier, it is possible that all the other students have a bias. They will say whatever it takes to save you,” Blackquill responded. “Besides that, in this court, only evidence stands. At the moment, all the evidence points to you. Face it, Ray-dono, unless Byakuya confesses to manipulating the crime scene, we must accept that Toko is guilty.”

Ray turned to Kay. He raised an eyebrow and Kay nodded. Now was the time to intact the plan they had come up with while Toko was unconscious. Ray turned to Toko. “I would like to ask the defendant a question. Jill, do you remember everything that Toko does?”

“The real question is, do I give a damn about what Gloomy does? No! Of course not!” Jill exclaimed. “She is just a weak little girl who doesn’t have the passion to do what I do!”

“Could you please just answer the question?” Ray asked. “Pretty please for Uncle Ray?”

Jill groaned. “We have the same knowledge but not the same memory. So no, I don’t remember what she does, not that I give a damn.”

“Thank you. What do you know about the first time Toko confessed to being Genocide Jill?” Ray asked, tapping his fingertips together.

“Not much, to be honest. As I said before, I don’t give a damn about what she does,” Jill stated, letting out some maniacal laughter. “I am a lot less talky-talky and a lot more stabby-stabby if you catch my drift.”

“Regardless, would you testify about what you do know?” Ray asked. Jill groaned.

 

TESTIMONY: GLOOMY’S CONFESSION

  * I know that the first person the Gloomy ever told was our White Knight, Byakuya Togami.
  * She met with him in her room, and she made some sort of promise to him.
  * Whatever it was, that conversation including telling him about me. 
  * It was pretty important to her. Then again, everything about that sexy Byakuya is important to both of us.



 

“Thank you, Jill,” Ray stated. “Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to turn the court’s attention to this tape,” he said, holding up an old VCR tape. “This is the security footage for the school. It was recorded and sent to the police station during the incident, which the murders and trials blacked out. While we don’t have the footage of the night of the murder, we do have footage of Toko’s confession to being Genocide Jill. I would like the court to watch this.”

“Are you insane? Why on earth would you present evidence that proves your client is a murderer?” Blackquill yelled, slamming his fists down. “Have you lost it?”

“We only need to watch a few ten-second clips of this footage,” Ray stated and handed it to the bailiff to play on a screen beside the judge. Meekins saluted and then marched over to the screen to do as he was told. The court murmured with anticipation.

The television screen burst to life. It showed Toko’s bedroom from the top corner security camera. Toko was sitting on the bed, with Byakuya standing off by the door, his arms crossed.

“Are you telling me that you… you are Genocide Jack?” Togami asked. He was rather calm despite the news. “Is that why you called me in here, to kill me? Because if that is why, then you are rather terrible at this. I am standing right next to an unlocked door, and all the students are gathered in the cafeteria right now…”

“N-no, I… I am n-not going t-to kill you. I-In f-fact… I’m n-never going t-t-to kill again,” Toko stammered. “I… I want t-to control h-her... I h-have to control her…”

“What is it that you want from me then?” Byakuya demanded.

“I… I j-just wanted you t-to know…”

“That was a rather stupid move,” Byakuya stated.

“I… I am n-never going t-t-to kill again. I promise! I-I swear it!” Toko exclaimed. “S-she will never k-kill again…”

Byakuya smirked. “Well, that is good to know. It is much easier to play this game with fewer players.”

With that, the Byakuya in the video walked out of the room, leaving Toko muttering to herself. The courtroom became alive with chatter. Blackquill glared at Raymond. “Alright, Ray-dono. Tell me, what is the point of this?” he asked.

“We aren’t finished yet. Bailiff, could you move the video forward to this timestamp, and then after that, this later one?” Ray asked, handing the bailiff a sticky-note with a number on it. He saluted and forwarded the tape.

The screen now Toko hiding in her room as people tried to talk to her through a cracked-open doorway. One of the figures was definitely Naegi, and it looked like Asahina was with him. Toko was scared and shaking, trying her best to keep the door as closed as possible while still speaking to Naegi through it.

“I… It’s just that Asahina was worried… She said you refuse to come out…”

“Leave me alone…”

“Um… for now, can you just open the door and let me come in?”

“... I… I’m not going to… play along… I’m not going to… let Genocide Jack win!” Toko exclaimed and slammed the door close. She then blocked the door with the desk chair, muttering to herself the entire time. The bailiff looked at the note and fast-forward through several minutes of her pacing in her room before the doorbell rang once more. Toko faltered, then unblocked the door.

“I told you to leave me alone! You’re being n...n...n…,” Toko stammered before exclaiming, “Nogami!”

“It’s ‘Togami’” Byakuya responded.

“I… I’m sorry… I… couldn’t keep my promise…B… but… don’t worry… From now on… I won’t… I will not….! I will not let Genocider Syo win!!” Toko cried, and then closed the door and blocked it once more. She then proceeded to scurry to her bed, lay face down upon it, and scream. Then the bailiff turned the t.v. off.

Ray turned to Jill, who was biting her thumb. Apparently, both Jill and Toko shared that one nervous twitch. Jill’s eyes kept darting from Togami, back to the screen, and then back to Togami. “Jill, darling, would you like to say something?” Ray asked with a smile.

“This idiot is hurting his own case,” Togami stated. Secretly, he was nervous. He didn’t understand what this attorney was doing, and that put him on edge. That was definitely what was putting him on edge, and not the fact that he just watched Toko have a meltdown that he caused.

After a moment of silence, the judge spoke. “If the defendant has nothing to say…”

“Wait a moment, your honor,” Ray interjected. “Jill, do you have anything you want to say? Any questions? You haven’t seen this footage before now, so I figured you would have at least a few things to say.”

Jill heard none of that. She simply stood, bewildered. “Togami is lying about moving the crime scene…” she murmured.

“He denies moving the crime scene,” Ray clarified.

“So she thinks I did it.”

“Yes.”

“So she believes she broke her promise to Master Togami.”

“That is correct.”

Jill stood there for a moment, staring at the blank screen. She was trying to grasp what this meant, and figure out how to put it into words. “The first time she thought I committed a crime, she tried to get away from people in order to protect everyone,” Jill said, slowly. “However, if she is in prison…”

“It will be difficult for her to be alone unless she constantly finds ways to get herself put into isolation,” Blackquill stated and spit out the feather he had in his mouth. “As someone who used to be in prison, I can tell you that it is more difficult than you might think.”

Jill turned to Togami. “Toko’s feelings for you are damn strong… strong enough that I couldn’t kill you even if I wanted to. Her feelings give her  _ power  _ over me. That loser Toko has  _ power  _ over me,” Jill said. “She would do anything to keep a promise to you.”

“W-what are you saying?” Togami asked.

“I am saying that she promised to get rid of me for you,” Jill said. “She promised I would never go out murderin’ again. Throughout the whole shitstorm of the school killings, she took comfort in knowing that at least I didn’t ever murder anyone in the school. If you convince her that I did… You let her believe that she ain’t strong enough to stop me…”

“What are you getting at?” Togami exclaimed. He was suddenly very tense. He hadn’t thought this through. He hadn’t thought this through.

“She will get rid of me the only way she knows will work: getting rid of herself,” Jill said, staring at Togami with a deadpan expression.

“T-They won’t let her harm herself in prison,” Togami stated, sweating bullets.

“Doesn’t mean she won’t spend the rest of her days trying,” Jill said. The gallery and jury went insane with chatter. The judge kept pounding his gavel, trying to maintain order in the room. Ray and Blackquill had fallen speechless.

Togami’s whole body went cold. His head fell into his hands. What was he to do? What was he to do? He couldn’t go to prison. He was a Togami, and they have a name to uphold. However, he didn’t want the others to get hurt either, not now. Maybe he would’ve, back when he was stubborn and selfish, but things had changed. Actually, everything had changed.

He was used to being alone. His parents and siblings all had high expectations of him, all the while were absent so he was left without any support. He was used to dealing with his own problems and cleaning up his own messes. Yet, after he left the school he realized the messes he had were too large for him to clean up.

No amount of money would get rid of the nightmares he had at night. No amount of hard work would train his mind not to see the faces of the dead students in every crowd. None of his connections could cleanse the sight of dead bodies from his brain. Most of all, nothing could fix the guilt of surviving.

The only comfort he had was knowing Naegi had the nightmares too. He saw the ghosts in the crowd too. He was constantly nervous of every stranger in every dark corner. He couldn’t see a batting range, or a carnival tent, or even a classroom without having a meltdown. He was scared of fire and construction equipment. He had to put a lock on his bedroom door just to sleep at night. Naegi’s whole world had stopped flat the moment he walked out of that school, and he was open about it. He talked with the others, checked up on them regularly. He let them know that it was okay and that they weren’t alone. Naegi brought them closer together, and the last thing Togami wanted to do was tear them all apart.

His plan was to be cleared of manipulating a crime scene, while not hurting anyone else. Toko was going to prison or an asylum anyway, and it was easier to prove her guilt than Oowada’s. She wasn’t going to be any worse off than before. After all, what is one murder added to the twenty-seven she had before she entered the school? It wasn’t going to hurt her, and it was going to save Togami…

“I did it,” Togami stated, flatly. “I manipulated the crime scene to look like a Genocide Jack killing.”

“W-what?” the judge exclaimed.

“I didn’t kill Chihiro Fujisaki. Mondo Oowada did that in a fit of anger,” Togami stated, his head still in his hands. “However, I manipulated the crime scene to make it look like Toko did it. I wanted to see who would solve the mystery… I wanted to know who the competition would be...:”

“The competition?” Blackquill asked.

“I… I was so focused on getting out… everyone else... they were just pawns,” Togami said, his breath was getting shallower, but there was no way he was going to let himself cry in front of all these people. That would tarnish the Togami name. “I… I was preparing to play the game… to play along…”

“You wanted to know who would cause the most trouble when you eventually murdered someone,” Blackquill clarified, glaring at Togami. “You were preparing to be a murderer.”

There was so much they didn’t understand. He had so much he wanted to say, but couldn’t articulate into words. He wanted to tell them how sorry he was. He wanted to explain that he was ashamed of everything he had done. His decisions then could’ve killed everyone and left him alone with this pain, and the very thought of that made him want to vomit. He wanted to admit that he was frightened, and still is. He wanted to explain everything, yet he didn’t have a good justification himself. Most of all, he wanted to plead the other students not to abandon him because he wasn’t sure he could survive this alone, yet all those words eluded him.

Instead, Togami just cried.

Blackquill stood uncomfortably, not knowing what to do to comfort a crying witness. Even Ray hesitated to walk over to the prosecution’s side and comfort him. Kay, however, didn’t care for appearances or proper courtroom procedure. She jumped over the defense’s table like the great thief she was and ran over to the other side of the room to hold Togami in her arms*.

“Wow, Blackquill. You made your own witness cry,” Ray noted. Blackquill glared at him from afar.

“Perhaps we should take a recess,” the judge suggested.

Togami shook his head. “W-wait,” he managed. He looked up at Jill with a red, tearstained face. “Jill… I… we need Toko back.”

“What do you want her for?” Jill asked.

“I… I need to tell her… I need to tell her that she didn’t kill Chihiro. I have to tell her… she is innocent.”

 

“Ema came back with the log for the locker room. 

Kuwata’s and Maizono’s I.D’s were used.

It came to reason that the student’s original conclusion was correct.

During today’s therapy session, Kirigiri cried with relief.”

 

“I had to face Naegi after the trial.

Actually, I had to face everyone, tear stained face and all.

It was quite humiliating.

Hagakure insisted on hugging me. It was uncomfortable.”

 

“It seems Togami-dono’s meltdown earned him some sympathy from the public.

There has been a push by the public for the government to pardon his crimes.

Actually, not just his, but all the survivors from the school.

The general consensus is that they have been through enough."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Someone, please draw a picture of this. I didn’t realize I needed this until I wrote this.
> 
> Jury Survey for the Trial of Yamada (and other questions) will close 6/22/2016 at noon EST: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LNSG77N
> 
> Next on Trauma with the 78th Class: The Trial for Genocide Jack!  
> \- Prosecutor: Payne, assisted by Robin Newman  
> \- Detective: Shi Long Lang  
> \- Judge: Juniper Woods  
> \- Defense Attorney: Debeste, assisted by Hugh O’Conner  
> \- Defendant: Toko Fukawa


	8. Side Story: Today, We Are Going To Cope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Athena attempts to get the survivors to create a support group. All seems to be going well, but the venue seems to be rather odd and distracting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! So, I wrote this (mostly fluff) story so I could give you guys something while I try and finish AAI2 (Since I need to write Debeste in the next chapter, I need to know what happens to him). Anyway, here is an update on the Jury Survey Stuff!
> 
> So, we had a tie for who should be the defendant in the double murder trial. I wasn’t expecting that. I honestly don’t know what to do. I could run another survey or I might just flip a coin or something. Also, as I am planning out the next few chapters, I’ve decided there WILL be spirit channeling. Specifically, before the Sakura trial. Still deciding if it will be Pearls or Maya who will do the channeling. You guys gave me some fantastic ideas for Side Stories! If you come up with any others, feel free to put them in the comments section. AA vs PL characters will not be appearing. There will be some light shipping, but mostly later on.

* * *

 

**Side Story: Today, We Are Going To Cope**

It had been Athena’s idea. Well, actually, it had been Naegi’s idea first. It is just that the idea wasn’t pushed onto their parents until Athena got a hold of it. Even Byakuya’s parents had forced him to attend, although that was more to get him out of their faces. They were pretty ashamed of what happened in court. Hagakure came simply because he was now crashing at Aoi's house, and she was dragging him with whether he liked it or not. If she had to go, he did too.

They would meet up once a week at a bowling alley. Why a bowling alley? Because Athena had left the location up to the group, and Aoi had suggested they meet up somewhere fun because the whole ordeal was going to be depressing. Kirigiri had suggested an art museum. However, Ishimaru and Yamado were killed in an art supply closet. Hagakure had suggested an arcade. Then again, Sakura was killed in the game room. Byakuya suggested a library and everyone rolled their eyes. Naegi had suggested the park, but Leon was killed in a batting range and Mukuro’s body was dumped in the garden.

Aoi brought up the bowling alley, and that was the end of that.

So, there they sat around a large, round table with only a single empty chair. Due to the trial coming up, Toko wasn’t able to join them, however, they left her a seat anyway. There was a greesy, pepperoni pizza sitting before them, and everyone had gotten a soda to drink except Togami who had ordered water. It was oddly silent and tense. Athena was looking around, fascinated.

“This is an interesting place to hold a support group,” Athena noted. The alley was especially empty today. It was probably because it was a Wednesday at eleven o’clock in the afternoon during the month of September. Every normal person was either in school or at work during this time.

There was silence around the table. Athena cleared her throat. “So… what made you choose to meet here?” She asked. More silence. Togami eventually clearly his throat and spoke up.

“To be bluntly honest, it is because there was no bowling alley in the school, and this was the only bowling alley without arcades or pool tables,” Togami stated. He attempted to appear irritated, but it was clear he was more uncomfortable than irritated. “It is sickening that I can’t be more comfortable in a higher class bowling alley. This place is a dump…”

“So, you are admitting that arcades make you uncomfortable? Why is that?” Athena asked. Togami hesitated and began looking around at the others at the table. Everyone began to tense up. Every person at the table understood why pool tables, dart boards, and game signs would make them uncomfortable. Everyone, that is, except Athena.

Kirigiri raised her hand. “I vote that we don’t do this,” Kirigiri stated.

“Do what?”

“Bring up everything that makes us uncomfortable at your bidding,” Kirigiri replied. “It feels rather forced.”

“I apologize if it feels forced, but you need to talk about it at some point,” Athena stated.

“Or… we could go bowling!” Aoi exclaimed.

“That sounds like fun!” Naegi responded, more than ready to jump ship on this whole support group thing. His original idea was to simply get the group to meet once a week and hang out together. All he asked for was physical proximity to those who understood what he was going through. Forcing them to face pain and emotions they don’t want to face wasn’t part of his plan. This distraction was perfect.

“H-hold it!” Athena exclaimed, but Hagakure was already at the desk, renting bowling shoes. Kirigiri grabbed her purse and began looking for enough cash to join them. Togami sighed and pulled out his wallet.

“I will cover the cost for everyone as long as I don’t actually have to join in,” Togami said.

“Hooray!” Aoi exclaimed. She had just realized that she had forgotten to bring money with her.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join?” Naegi asked. “If it is because you don’t bowl often, don’t worry. Neither do I.”

“I’ve never bowled in my life!” Aoi cheerfully exclaimed.

“Looks like we are going to need bumpers,” Hagakure stated.

“W-wait! Guys! This isn’t why…” Athena began to say, and then she stopped herself. They were smiling. As far as Athena had seen, that was some sort of improvement.

“I will have you know that I am a phenomenal bowler,” Togami stated. “I simply take no pleasure from the game.”

“He’s just scared to lose!” Aoi exclaimed.

Togami frowned at her. “You just admitted that you have never bowled before…”

“Chicken!” Aoi cried.

Athena sighed, unsure of what to do with herself now. She came all prepared to deal with their trauma, but they were too busy dealing with their boredom to notice.

“Athena, I understand that you are trying to help,” Kirigiri stated, placing a hand on Athena’s shoulder.“However, the whole point of this is that  _ we  _ need to support each other, and we are. We are going to be there for each other during whatever stage of grief we are in. At the moment, we are all in denial. Maybe we aren’t dealing with it, but we aren’t ignoring it either. We are coping the only way we know how.”

Athena looked out at the group, who were grabbing bowling balls and putting on their rental shoes. Naegi was doing his best to try and coerce Togami to join the game, but Togami had already pulled out a book and began reading. Aoi was so hyped up on excitement, she was basically running circled around Hagakure, who was trying to divine how he well he was going to bowl. They looked like normal teens in this moment. It was as if they were just high school friends, ditching school to hang out at an old bowling alley.

“Tomorrow, Toko goes to court for the Genocide Jack murders. I am sure that Naegi will visit the detention center later today to give Toko a pep talk. I am sure that tonight, Hagakure will keep Aoi up, talking to her about the time he tried to frame Toko for Sakura’s murder. He will be a guilty mess about it, but Aoi has forgiven him and she will comfort him. I am sure that tomorrow I will be awoken by the sound of a car horn as Togami sends a vehicle to pick myself and the other students up to take to the trial,” Kirigiri stated. “Tomorrow we will handle the troubles of tomorrow…”

“... Today, we are going to cope.”


	9. DeBeste & Co,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian Debeste get a new apprentice, and a new client: Toko Fukawa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: WARNING! This chapter does have mentions of abuse (not in any detail). The next two chapters may have much more detailed mentions. If you do not want to/are unable to read these chapters FEAR NOT! I care very much about my readers and their wellbeing, so in the notes of Chapter 9, I will put a trigger-free summary of the case and conclusion so that you can continue reading!
> 
> Now, I apologize for the break. Stuff went down, and my time disappeared. Anyway, this is a very AA-centric chapter. It is a bit shorter, mostly since I expect the next chapter to be much longer. The next chapter also will get a bit darker, so I am tempted to up the rating of this fic to T. On a lighter note, Sebastian has grown up some since the events of AAI2, but he is still Sebastian. He also still has his baton. It is beautiful, and I loved writing it. The only problem I had was trying to visualize him in something other than a school uniform...

* * *

Chapter 7: Debeste & Co.

Debeste wasn’t the greatest prosecutor. He learned that back during his time facing off with Miles Edgeworth during investigations. However, this was solidified after he returned to school and did his best to become a prosecutor of his own merits. He had always simply wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, but it became much harder to follow another’s footsteps once he realized that they would lead him right off a cliff. Debeste always strived to be “the best”, but he soon realized that becoming the best prosecutor was a pipedream at best, and he didn’t really have a heart for the job.

However, during this process of self-discovery at the school, he learned he was much better at defense work. His true-hearted, honest nature made him a great fit for the career. His goofy smile and friendly demeanor put his clients at ease, and he was actually rather good at getting people to open up to him. Maybe his deduction skills weren’t always “the best”, but he found an area of law that didn’t really mind that: defending those pleading guilty.

For a few years now, Debeste had been defending those who were pleading guilty. He was still rather new at it, but he loved it all the same. Even guilty criminals deserve someone in their corner, fighting for a proper, humane sentence. If left to the prosecutors, every criminal would have the maximum sentence. Debeste fought for as much mercy as possible, and between the two conflicting forces, true justice always triumphed.

It had been an uphill battle getting here. Since Debeste used to be a prosecutor, and he was the son of someone involved with a public scandal, it was difficult getting any attorney’s office to hire him. In fact, some of them went out of their way to make sure he didn’t get the job, and didn’t get a job anywhere else. By the end of his job search, every law office in the city had been warned of this “false attorney” whose goal was to “sabotage cases everywhere”. So, he did the only thing he could do: He started his own law office.

He started off just running the office out of the computer room in his house (read: the previous house of his father). He didn’t know how to find clients at first, but Justine Courtney helped him get his name out there, starting with defending an abuse victim who murdered her abuser. Debeste was highly successful at explaining the situation in such a way that the jury would understand his client’s situation and reasoning. She found some sympathy with the jury and received a lighter sentence. It soon became a slogan that “DeBeste” was who you went to when things were “DeWorste”. The clients soon started pouring in. and Sebastian realized he would need help.

Many attornies came to his office looking for work, and many of them were extremely qualified. Some of them had decades of experience as an attorney, while others were recently graduated valedictorians of their class which so many honors that they wouldn’t fit on a single page. They were “the best”. Yet, he couldn’t see the compassion in any of them. Not every attorney can fight for a criminal, and he had yet to find a person who proved worthy.

That was until a recently graduated boy from Themis Academy sat down with Debeste at an interview.

Sebastian was reading through the boy’s transcript with a puzzled expression. He went from being at the top of his class with honors and awards, to barely scraping by in his third and fourth year. Sebastian looked up to ask questions, but Hugh was already answering.

“T-They aren’t mine,” he stammered.

“What do you mean by ‘they aren’t mine’?” Sebastian asked, still looking at the sheet. He was expecting an excuse about how the bad grades were someone else’s fault.

“The awards… the A’s... they aren’t mine,” Hugh stated. Sebastian met Hugh’s eyes. They were young, earnest eyes, scrunched together as if trying to summon all the courage in his body. “M-my parents… they paid the school to give me the A’s. They paid a lot of money for me to be at the top of my class,” Hugh admitted. “I tried to get the school to fix it, but they said that they no longer had records of what my true grade was before the bribe, so they couldn’t.”

Sebastian was about to comment on that, but then remembered what he learned from Prosecutor Edgeworth. If you stay quiet and listen, often times people will speak of their own accord. Sebastian was curious about what this young man had to say.

“The C’s, the D’s, the summer school remedial classes, those are mine,” Hugh said. “I… I know they aren’t all that impressive, but I am proud of them. I really am. I would rather be a failure of my own accord, than a success at the hand of my parents...”

“You’re hired,” Sebastian stated with a full smirk. Hugh’s face turned to shock.

“R-Really?” Hugh exclaimed.

“Yup.”

“Don’t you want to talk to my references?” Hugh asked.

“Nope.”

“You… You don’t want to talk to the school about my grades?”

“Nope.”

“What about a background check?”

“Are you a criminal?”

“N-no…”

“Then we can run that later, just to have it on record,” Sebastian said and pointed at a desk with his baton. “That will be your desk from now on. I expect that you will keep it organized. I expect that you will be here every morning at nine, prepared to work and do ‘the best’ you can.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“You may call me Sebastian. There is no need to be formal. It isn’t like we are in an official office building with clients coming in and out all the time,” Sebastian replied. “Speaking of clients, we just got one and I could use your help with it.”

“Who is the client?” Hugh asked.

“She is one of the students from Hope’s Peak Academy. Her name is Toko Fukawa,” Sebastian stated, and pulled out who giant folders of files. “There is video footage of her confessing to being Genocide Jack.”

“The serial killer?”

“The very same,” Sebastian stated.

“Was she coerced into a confession?”

“Nope, no tricks, just an honest confession. She is indeed, Genocide Jack.”

“Then why are we defending her?” Hugh asked. Sebastian smirked and hit his baton against his hand. He had only been hired half a minute ago, and he was already using the word “we”.

“She has two personalities, Toko Fukawa and Genocide Jack, which were brought on by previous abuse in her household,” Sebastian stated.

“But she is still Genocide Jack. She is guilty.”

“Maybe, but she doesn’t deserve the prison time that  they are going to try and give her,” Debeste responded. “She doesn’t need a jail cell. She needs a hospital and some professional help. Think about it, Hugh. She was abused at home, we have records of her being bullied at school when she was younger, and when she got to high school she ended up playing a twisted game with a psychopath.”

“She’s had a rough life.”

“And it is about to get rougher if we don’t help her,” Sebastian stated. He turned to Hugh. “If you aren’t comfortable defending her, that is fine. You just should know that defending people like her is what the Debeste & Co. Law Offices are all about.”

Hugh was silent for a solid minute, pondering Sebastian’s words. “I… I am okay with defending her,” Hugh eventually said.

“Are you sure? It took you quite a while to decide that.”

“Actually, I was debating why it was called Debeste & Co. Law Offices when it was just you here until ten minutes ago…”

“Because it sounds more professional that Debeste Alone Law Office,” Sebastian explained. Hugh noted that Sebastian’s face was oddly reactive. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment and he was bending his baton nearly in half with his two hands. Were his eyes watering?

“Alright, we should probably go and talk to our client then, correct?” Hugh asked, doing his best to change the subject.

“Unfortunately, that may be difficult to do. She has been rejecting visitors ever since her last trial,” Sebastian replied. “I went to go see her earlier today, but she just sat in the corner of the visitor’s room and refused to speak to me. According to her previous attorney, Genocide Jill appeared in court the other day. It upset her so much, she’s been refusing to speak to anyone.”

“So, what do we do then?” Hugh asked.

“Obviously, we prepare our defense,” Sebastian said, as he tapped his baton on his palm, thinking. “First thing first, we need to see if we can get our hands on any medical records. The only reason we know that Toko was abused at home was due to her conversations with her classmates at the school, and she didn’t talk about the nature of that abuse. If it was physical abuse, then having the medical records will help us prove it.”

“I will get right on that,” Hugh stated. He pulled out a phone book and began skimming through it for the number he needed. “What do we do after that?”

“We need people who have had interactions with both Genocide Jill and Toko Fukawa to speak about the differences between them, those who know her best,” Sebastian said, opening up his planner and looking for a specific number.

“Like who?’ Hugh asked.

“Well, for starters, talking to her mothers and father might be a good start,” Sebastian stated.

“Did I hear that right? Mothers? As in, she has more than one?”

“Strange, isn’t it? According to what I have discovered thus far, she has two mothers and one father. It is an interesting story, actually. Apparently, the day she was born, another newborn died in the same hospital. However, for some reason the hospital couldn’t tell whose baby died. Through this whole predicament, the two mother’s realized they were married to the same man. Since neither mother wanted to risk being told it was their child who was dead, they both refused a blood test and just agreed to raise the baby together.”

“That… sounds like it came right out of a soap opera.”

“Trust me, I know. I double checked with the hospital several times to make sure the birth certificate Toko’s family gave me and the story they told me were accurate,” Sebastian thought for a moment. Speaking of accurate, there was something that Edgeworth had told him a long time ago… what was it again? Oh, that is right! “ It will make things complicated but we should probably talk to all them separately, encase they decide that they are going to hide things from us.”

Sebastian thought for another moment, and Hugh began to realize that Sebastian had two modes: talking nonstop, or vacant expression. Sebastian still wasn’t very good about refraining from giving away everything he knows, but he had gotten a lot better about stopping and thinking about the facts before drawing conclusions. He still was no match for Edgeworth’s deductions skills, but he did learn how to slow down and reflect on arguments better than before. Unfortunately, reflecting usually meant stopping and staring blankly, leaving others to believe he was still an airhead kid. 

Sebastian snapped back and continued. “From there, we should see if any of the students from the school are willing to testify for us. Makoto Naegi has already agreed to testify, but I would like to see if we could get Aoi Asahina to join him.”

“Why her?”

“She was openly hostile to Toko and Genocide Jack during their days at the school. If Aoi Asahina insists that it is Genocider, not Toko, who is physically violent, it will mean more,” Sebastian replied.

“... What about Byakuya Togami?” Hugh asked.

Sebastian eyes shot up. “The man who tried to frame her for murder, twice?”

“Yeah, but he’s the person who she confessed to originally. He’s the person who best understands how the personality swap works. Also, due to her constant need to be around him, he spent a lot of time with her and he understands how each personality reacts to different things. He was openly hostile to her during  _ and  _ after the tragedy, so he might be a better witness than Aoi,” Hugh explained.

“You make a very good point, my dear apprentice!” Sebastian exclaimed, enjoying his new power a little too much. “I will call him, and see if he is willing to stand in court one more time. Also, we should probably get in contact with the psychologists who came up with this profile for Genocide Jack. Could you look up Simon Blackquill and Metis Cykes in the phonebook for me?”

“Also, I need to get familiar with the facts in the murder cases, disassociative personality disorder, and the recordings from the school,” Hugh said and looked at the clock. “It is going to be a really long night…”

“Lucky for us, Mr. Shields gave us the timestamps for when Toko changes into Genocide Jill, her confession to Byakuya, and her conversations with Naegi about her home life,” Sebastian said, pulling out a tape with a yellow post-it note out of his desk drawer. “First, call for the medical records so that we can try and pick them up today. I will call Byakuya Togami, Simon Blackquill, and Metis Cykes. After that, we can watch the tapes. Do you like coffee?”

“I prefer tea, to be honest.”

“Alright, I have some Earl Grey tea I can make for you, and I will make some coffee for me,” Sebastian said as he dramatically pointed his baton at the door. “We are DeBeste, so it is time to get started!”

 

“It took me several months, but I finally got hired somewhere.

My boss is eccentric, but at least he seems to have a good heart.

It seems, for my first trial, I am going to have to face Robin.

All the while, I am defending a serial killer.”

 

“I have a bad feeling about this trial.

Not the normal ‘I am nervous about going to court’ type of bad feeling.

It is much darker than that.

I began feeling it after I met Toko’s parents.” 


	10. Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin's first trial is assisting with prosecuting Genocide Jack. However, when her mentor Winston Payne takes the trial in an unexpected direction, everyone is left in shock. Robin must gather her courage and prove she still believe in "the ends do not justify the means".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS: Reflections on emotional abuse, offset by some fluffy Robin stuff. If you are unable to / do not want to read this chapter due to triggers, FEAR NOT. Chapter 10 (Actual Chapter 10. Due to the short stories, the count is off) will have a brief summary at the beginning of it so that you may continue reading after these chapters have passed. I love you all!
> 
> Never have I been so angry writing anything. This was so hard to write. I mean, I knew this was where the chapter was going to go but… AGH! I am pissed at this whole situation. All of it. To kind of offset it, there is some fluffy stuff in the beginning, which I am pretty proud of. I took a lot of time on it, so I hope this chapter is as good as it sounds in my head.

* * *

 

**Chapter 8: Advice**

 

Robin paced around the lobby, anxiously. She was here way too early, mostly due to nerves. She didn’t sleep much the night before, so she was shaking from sleep deprivation, anxiety, and caffeine from her coffee that morning. It was her first case, and the chief prosecutor decided to assign her to help with the trial of a serial killer. Not just any serial killer, though. She was the assistant for the Genocide Jack case, and that thought made her stomach do flips.

That meant that the whole world was watching her. The public waited to see how the state would hand a juvenile serial killer. To be honest, she didn’t feel all that prepared.

It wasn’t long until the detective on the case arrived to offer his own advice.

“Lang Zi says: Confidence is like a soul, and words without confidence are but empty shells," the detective replied. “You need to calm down and relax a bit. You have enough evidence that you shouldn’t be worried in the slightest.” 

Robin had met with him the day that she was assigned the case. His name was Shi-Long Lang, and he was an Interpol agent. The idea that she was working with Interpol did nothing but increase her nerves.

This man had been looking for Genocide Jack for over a year. After a distinguished ambassador was killed by the serial killer, it became an international incident and Interpol was forced to get involved. Now. Genocide Jill (as she preferred to be called) had been caught, with no thanks to him. Agent Lang was a little bit salty about that, leading him to focus his energy on making sure that Genocide Jill was convicted and justice would be served.

Although he meant to calm Robin down, Agent Lang’s words conflicted with the way he was glaring at her. His eyes were so focused, like a wolf stalking a prey. His brow never seemed to relax, and his shoulders were even tenser than her own. She felt rather small and uneasy in his presence.

“Uh… alright, then,” Robin muttered, still pacing around the room. She thought about grabbing another coffee out of the machine, just to have something to do, but then decided against it. Maybe some water would help with her shaking hands…

“Do me a favor, would ya?” Lang asked. His head was tilted forward and his hands were pressed together as if he had been praying.

“Uh, y-yes?”

“First off, sit down,” Lang ordered. Robin quickly sat down in one of the chairs to the right of Agent Lang. “Secondly, promise me that you will take charge if you need to.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have heard things about your mentor,” Lang stated. “They use to call him the Rookie Killer, so theoretically winning this case shouldn’t be too hard for him. After all, I have met Sebastian Debeste, and he isn’t all that impressive…”

“Hugh is also with him, and Hugh is a fantastic attorney!” Robin interrupted. Hugh had worked so hard to get his current position. As his friend, Robin couldn’t allow people to simply overlook him because he is an assistant.

“Pfft, I heard about him and what went down at Themis Legal Academy. Hugh O’Connor is a flunky with a corrupt past who is lucky to have a job anywhere, much less in the legal world,” Agent Lang stated. Robin felt her face get flushed with anger. How dare he say such things about her friends? He didn’t even know Hugh!  “I am not all that worried about either of them. I am however, worried about Prosecutor Payne.”

“Well, you should be worried about them! You don’t know Hugh like I do!” Robin began to shout. “We were going to end the dark age of the law together!”

“Yeah, but someone beat you to the punch,” Agent Lang said. “Here is a word of advice. Lang Zi says ‘Only cooperate with those you can trust.’ and you can’t trust that boy."

“Enough! I will decide for myself who is and isn’t trustworthy! Now, what is your second request?” Robin exclaimed, and quickly realized that she was yelling at a man who could probably rip her throat out if he wanted.

“I already told you. I want you to take control of the trial if you need to.”

“I still don’t understand what you mean.”

Before Agent Lang could answer, the door to the waiting room swung open, and in walked “The Rookie Killer” himself. He looked at Robin with a smirk. “Good to know that the High Prosecutor knew better than to assign an irresponsible assistant to one of my cases this time. Last time I was assigned an assistant, they never showed up for court. The one before that met up with me once, and then decided he wasn’t up for the prosecutor’s life.”

_ That or he decided that the idea of become just like you was too much to bear, _ Lang thought. The poor kid probably never got the chance to realize that not all prosecutors are as arrogant and incompetent as you.

“Sir! I am Robin Newman, Sir!” Robin exclaimed, standing up and throwing her ceramic coffee cup down, smashing it all over the floor. Robin then simply grabbed another one out of her bag, while Agent Lang looked at her as if she were an alien of some kind.

Winston’s face fell. “I know, Robin. We already met. Twice. And you have broken a coffee cup like that. Twice,” he stated. “Why is it that no one ever remembers me?”

“Oh… Uh, I am sorry!” Robin said, not realizing that she was still yelling.

“Since you have seemed to have forgotten me, I will reintroduce myself. I am Winston Payne and we will be prosecuting for the trial of…”

“Toko Fukawa, also known as Genocide Jack or Genocide Jill!” Robin responded. “I remember! I have gone over the case files twenty-eight times, Sir! I am more than ready!”

“Well, I guess I should be thankful you remember everything about the case,” Payne muttered. “However, it would be nice if you could remember me as well.”

“How much longer until the trial starts?” Robin asked.

“We have about forty-five minutes before we should be getting into the courtroom,” Payne replied. Robin was still pacing around nervously, and she wasn’t sure she was going to keep her sanity if she stayed in the room much longer.

“I’m going to grab another coffee,” Robin declared, grabbing another ceramic cup out of her bag.

“Yes, make sure that you are wide awake for the trial! I will not have my assistant making any mistakes today!” Payne exclaimed. Lang looked at him questioningly. Lang didn’t think it was possible, but somehow Payne had missed the fact that Robin was shaking from head to toe already.

“Are you sure that is a good idea?” Lang asked.

“Stop badgering my assistant,” Payne responded. Payne then began to rant on and on about how his assistants needed to be of the highest standards, and how he would teach them how to be great prosecutors like Miles Edgeworth and Klavier Gavin. Robin ignored him and happily skipped through the door to the coffee machine.

She kept reminding herself that there was no point in being nervous. It was already a great day. Her hand subconsciously grabbed the friendship band on her arm as she thought about it. Juniper was the judge. Hugh was on the defense team. The whole group was going to be together today, and for the first time, Robin was going to prosecuting in a skirt.

Juniper had made Robin a frilly, pretty outfit that included a knee-length red skirt with white lace on the bottom as a congratulations gift for passing the bar exam. However, it was so fancy, Robin didn’t feel right wearing it casually, so she waited until her first trial to try it out. As Robin walked down the hall, she twirled several times and enjoyed watching the skirt poof out around her, giggling the whole time.

She eventually stopped at the coffee machine. She pushed the buttons for a sweet, French vanilla latte, and waited.

“You look lovely, Fraulein,” a voice behind her stated. Robin spun around, face to face with Prosecutor Gavin, and blushed heavily. “Being yourself really suits you.” 

“T-thank you!” Robin responded, fiddling with her skirt. She realized that Gavin had probably seen her endless twirling and that only made her more embarrassed. ”What are you doing here so early?”

“Well, why do you suppose a prosecutor would be at the courthouse?”

“Right! Of course! You have a trial!” Robin exclaimed. Gavin’s eyes wandered to Robin’s hands that were gripping her coffee cup and shaking so badly, they were basically vibrating.

“Yup, and I am guessing you have your first one, nien?” Gavin asked. Robin nodded. “Take a deep breath, and relax Fraulein. You will be fine. Just remember to think for yourself, hold true to what you believe, and if can imagine Herr-Payne doing it, you shouldn’t do it.”

“Winston Payne is the lead on this case.”

“...Oh. Well then, that makes the first three things even more important,” Gavin said, running a hand through his hair. “Just curious, how many cups of coffee have you drank?”

“Uh… this will be four…”

“You should probably use the bathroom before you go in,” Gavin stated and glanced at his watch. “I must get to the courtroom now. Don’t fret it, Fraulein. You’re going to be great out there,” he said and left for Courtroom 2.

It was forty minutes before the trial began.Everyone filed into Courtroom 3, and Robin’s heart was going so fast, she was sure it was going to explode. Soon, the judge asked the dreaded words “Is the prosecution ready?”.

With that, the trial was in full swing. For the most part, Robin stayed at the beginning. It was going almost as Robin expected. The defendant was pleading guilty. The defense was only looking for a lighter sentence. They were bringing up the conversation that Toko had with Naegi about her homelife. Robin waited for Payne to tell them that “her circumstances doesn’t excuse her actions”...

“What evidence do you have?” Payne asked. Robin frowned slightly. Robin remembered reading about Toko’s birth. She remembered talking to her elementary teachers about the incidences at school. Surely, Payne wasn’t implying…

“Dissociative Identity Disorder is usually a reaction to trauma as a way to help a person avoid bad memories,” Hugh recited. “Since our client has D.I.D., it makes logical sense that she must’ve had some sort of traumatic event in her life. Ergo, she was likely telling the truth when she spoke to Naegi. She had no reason to lie, after all.”

Payne scoffed. “Your entire argument is based around the idea that your client actually has D.I.D.,” he stated. “Do you have evidence of that?”

“W-what do you mean, evidence? We have multiple videos of her switching between personalities multiple times!” Debeste responded. “Her disorder is idiomatic!”

“He means axiomatic,” Hugh corrected. The words that Debeste struggled with were getting bigger by the day, and he screwed up more the more nervous he got. Maybe it had been a bad idea for Edgeworth to give him a dictionary for his birthday and suggest that he read the whole thing…

“Is it, though? How can we be entirely sure that she isn’t faking this disorder? After all, the only time she’s ‘switched’, it was under circumstances that would benefit herself to do so,” Payne said. Robin looked at him like he was insane. “Think about it! While in the school, claiming she had D.I.D. gives her an excuse for any harm she might have caused. The same thing goes for the courtroom. Admit it! Your client is hiding behind a fake disorder to get out of being punished for her crimes!” Payne exclaimed.

“Toko would never do such a thing!” Debeste cried back.

“So she is above lying but not above murder?” Payne responded. “She is pleading guilty to murdering twenty-seven people. I don’t think it is too difficult to believe that she would lie to the court…”

“Objection! Where is  _ your  _ evidence?” Debeste exclaimed. “Without evidence, this is slammer!”

“He means slander,” Hugh corrected again.

“I have plenty of evidence. We looked up the medical records for Toko Fukawa, your honor,” Payne responded. “There was no injuries that would suggest physical abuse at home. In fact, it seems the girl never did anything dangerous. There were no broken bones, not even a sprained ankle anywhere in her medical history. The closest thing there was to an illness was that she has always been a bit underweight, but not dangerously so.”

“Emotional abuse is still possible!” Hugh replied.

“Who? Who exactly do you believe abused her?”

“Her parents, clearly! The court already knows the circumstances of her birth. That is the perfect concoction for a truly rocky family situation.”

“Allow me to inform the court a little bit about Toko Fukawa’s parents. Her father, Takumi Fukawa is a hard working pharmacist who is known for his charity work and volunteering around the community. He is on the PTA of the local school, and is highly respected around the community…”

“Objection! This is irrelevant,” Debeste stated.

“I am explaining the character of her parents. You explained the circumstances of her birth, so it is only just that I get to explain the circumstances afterward. The jury deserves to know who it is that you are accusing,” Payne responded. The judge thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement with the prosecution.

“Please continue,’ the Juniper urged.

“Toko has two mothers: Natsumi and Summer Fukawa, both of whom are known as kind and loving souls around the community. 

“Summer is a dancer from the west who met Takumi during her study abroad trip. She is also a fantastic singer who grew up in poverty and is actively supporting the local homeless population. She is known for performing for charity functions on a regular basis, as well as leading local youth programs. 

“On the other hand, Natsumi is a language teacher at the local high school. She teaches English, French, Japanese, and German. She was the one who taught Toko to read and write, and tutors the other students for free as if they were her own children. She spends her free days writing in the local newspapers and trying to spread the word of local events.

“Tell me, Sebastian Debeste, who exactly are you accusing of being abusive?” Payne stated.

Robin stared at him, horrified. This… This was his strategy? Was this the path that prosecutors took? Ensure justice for the victims by denying justice for the culprit?

_ Think for yourself, hold true to what you believe, and if can imagine Herr-Payne doing it, you shouldn’t do it. _

Hugh was right: Toko never had a reason to lie about having a disorder. In fact, being Genocide Jack the entire time would ensure that no one would dare try and make her a victim. It was to her disadvantage to reveal that she was Genocide Jack and even more of a disadvantage to say she had D.I.D.

Toko definitely had dissociative identity disorder. That didn’t mean she should get off without any punishment for her crimes, but in Robin’s eyes, in meant the nature of that punishment should be different. She should be treated for her disorder, but in order to do that, the court needed to accept that the disorder existed.

It would start with Robin believing Toko’s story. Robin liked to believe that people were inherently good, but circumstances and clouded judgment lead to people becoming evil. The purpose of justice was to set criminals back on the right path. This what Robin believed. Following this logic, clearly someone did something to make Toko like this. It only made sense that her parents should be the first suspect.

“I ask you again, attorney: Where is your evidence?” Payne stated.

Robin, panicking, looked pleadingly at Juniper, but she was in judge-mode and was waiting for Debeste to make a statement. Robin then looked at Hugh, but Hugh only shook his head. He didn’t expect the trial to take this turn, and Hugh was close to giving up. The only thing stopping him from leaving, believing himself to have failed once again, was the passion in Debeste’s eyes. Debeste was so furious, tears were forming in his eyes. He was bending his baton, and glaring at the prosecution. 

“The only thing you have proven, prosecutor, is that Toko’s parents appear dignified and caring to outsiders,” Debeste responded through gritted teeth.

“What I have proven is that her parents are incapable of abusing their child: a child that they loved so much that they refused a blood test, just out of fear of losing her.,” Payne responded. “Your Honor, if she had been abused, clearly  _ someone  _ in the community should’ve suspected  _ something _ , and no one did. Thus, I have proven it to be unlikely that Toko was abused, and the defense has yet to provide evidence of…”

“Objection!” Sebastian yelled. There was silence.

“Do you have evidence to present, Mr. Debeste?” the judge asked. Sebastian didn’t even miss a beat.

“ _ I am  _ the evidence!” Sebastian exclaimed.

The courtroom murmured, and the Juniper hit her gavel to procure silence.

“E-Excuse me?” Payne exclaimed.

“I… No,  _ we  _ are the evidence,” Sebastian said, looking over at Hugh, who was turning redder by the moment. “We know better than anyone that appearances can be deceiving. We know what it is like when no one sees the side of your parents that you see. We know what it is like to watch as everything ugly gets hidden behind fake smiles and lies.”

Sebastian took a deep breath, tears falling down his cheeks. He looked around the courtroom. “No one outside of her family could know what was going on inside, just as no one could know what was going on in mine. No one suspected my father to be the leader of a black market! No one would’ve believed he was a kidnapper, blackmailer, and conspirator! No one else in the world could tell that he was anything but the best Chief Prosecutor there had ever been, but I knew.”

Sebastian looked at the defendant. She was staring at Sebastian, shocked. He then looked to Hugh, who nodded in encouragement. Then, he looked back at the gallery.

“I knew my father was angry. I knew he liked to shout, specifically at me. I knew he shouted a lot a Mom before she disappeared,” Sebastian said as calmly and clearly as possible. However, it still came out as a broken mess. “I knew he was could be very persuasive when he wanted to be. I knew I was a failure. I knew I wasn’t wanted. I knew that I was a mistake that he wished he had never made. Most of all, I knew fear. I knew the fear of crossing him. I knew the fear of his anger, whether I was the cause or not. I knew that I was afraid constantly, and that made me a coward in his eyes.

“The only thing I didn’t know was that the screaming, crying, and cursing wasn’t normal. I didn’t know that I deserved better. Thus, I told no one. Ergo… there is no record of any of this because my father was good at lying.”

The courtroom was silent.

“You can’t rely on hearsay to decide if there was abuse at home,” Hugh finished. “Especially not the words of people that Toko herself would’ve never confided in even if there was abuse at home.”

“Then what do you suggest? Clearly, her parents would deny any wrongdoings. You don’t trust the community. How do you intend to prove your claims?” Payne asked.

_ I want you to take control of the trial if you need to. _

“Your Honor! I have a suggestion!” Robin exclaimed. Payne gasped and turned to her. It was at that moment that Robin realized that he had forgotten that she was there beside him,

“Yes, Miss Newman?” Juniper responded, the slightest hint of a smile forming at the corner of her lips.

“If… If is possible to let this trial go one for another day, I suggest we each bring in one witness. The prosecution will bring in someone from the community… Like, one of Toko’s teachers! Yeah, we can bring in a teacher other than her mother, to testify about Toko’s behavior at school. The defense can bring in one of the students who dealt with Genocide Jack in order to testify about that. Then, we can have Toko herself testify.”

“How does that solve anything?” Payne asked. “They won’t accept the word of anyone we bring in to testify!”

“We aren’t going to ask the teacher or the student about whether or not Toko was abused. We simply want them to testify about her behavior. From there, we should bring in a neutral, third-party psychologist who can tell us whether or not their testimonies are consistent with dissociative identity disorder,” Robin responded. “We can also hear Toko’s words from her own mouth. She… she has a right to be heard, right?”

“The defense has no problem with this request,” Hugh stated. Debeste looked over at him and then nodded at Juniper. “In fact, we already have a witness lined up.”

Juniper hit her gavel down. “Then it is decided. I will procure the psychologist. The trial for Toko Fukawa will continue tomorrow.”

With that, Robin walked out of the courtroom, Payne grumbling behind her. She knew that he was going to make a big deal about how she completely messed up his case, and how she wasn’t as responsible as he thought she was initially. However, at this point, she didn’t care.

As Robin walked out, she spotted Agent Lang. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or not initially, and that stressed her out even more. He seemed rather focused on Toko Fukawa, who was being led out by the bailiffs. Finally, Lang noticed Robin. He walked up to her, looking past her as if he was headed to the other set of doors.

“Lang Zi says ‘Little cubs, never do they know the real fury of the elder wolves’,” Agent Lang said, stopping as he passed her right shoulder. She felt a wave of cold traverse her spine as she held her breath. “Lucky for you, your elder wolf is incompetent,” he said and walked away.

“We all made a decision.

The ends do not justify the means.

Just because the Dark Age of the Law is over doesn’t mean I am going back on that.

We are going to get the right verdict, the right way.”

 

“I was going to volunteer to testify, but someone beat me to it.

Mr. Debeste won’t tell me who.

However, he told me I didn’t need to worry.

Whoever the witness is, he is passionate about saving her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: So, I am going to tell you now, the teacher for the next trial will be Larry Butz. "Why?" you ask? Because of the lunch money incident in Toko’s Backstory. Sound familiar? I am going to have a lot of fun with this.


End file.
